Ethiopia starts visa on arrival for all Africans
On 1 November, Ethiopia launched a visa on arrival service for all African travellers, a move which the country believes will boost cross-border tourism, trade and investment, further deepening African integration.
At the launch ceremony held in Addis Ababa, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat remarked that free movement of African people in their own continent is a long-held dream for all Pan-Africanists.
He added that one of the flagship projects of the AU’s Agenda 2063 is the free movement of people in Africa. “In January this year, in Addis Ababa, the Heads of States and Government of the AU adopted the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence and the Right of Establishment, as well as its Implementation Roadmap,” said Mahamat.
To date, 32 Member States have signed the Protocol, while only one Member State – Rwanda – has ratified it.
The Protocol on Free Movement is one of the pillars of the integration process of the continent, along with the Agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area and the Single African Air Transport Market.
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