Visitors from all other African countries heading to Ethiopia will from the 9th of November receive their visas upon arrival in the country.
According to the office of the Prime Minister’s, this is in line with Abiy Ahmed’s vision of a closer and full regional integration in Africa.
“Consistent with PM Abiy Ahmed’s vision of a closer and full regional integration in Africa—where minds are open to ideas and markets are open to trade, Ethiopia will start on arrival visa to all Africans starting from November 9, 2018.’’ Chief of Staff, in the Prime Minister’s Office, Fitsum Arega said in a tweet.
The policy is expected to further open up the country to other African visitors, and it will undoubtedly ease the free movement of African nationals and boost tourism in the country.
The announcement comes at a time when the continent is looking to implement the open skies policy which was signed by 32 countries in an effort to boost Continental trade among the countries.
Ethiopia before the announcement was only issuing visa on arrival to only two African countries, Kenya and Djibouti whose citizens were allowed entry into Ethiopia without first applying and receiving a visa.
The announcement has been lauded with other African countries expected to act on the implementation of the African Union’s (AU) 2063 Agenda for a continent with seamless borders to help facilitate the free movement of African citizens.
Ethiopia like most African countries relies heavily on the tourism sector and now joins a number of other African countries that have in the past year started implementing the 30-day visa-on-arrival policy as recommended by the AU.
Countries such as Kenya, Ghana and Zimbabwe offer visas on arrival for SADC members and several international countries.
