After almost one year of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Immigration authorities visa ban on Nigerians since October 2022, has he ban has been lifted following a fruitful meeting with President Bola Tinubu and President of the UAE, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Monday in Abu Dhabi.
Dubai authorities had in October 2022 declared that all applications were on hold until issues between the UAE government and the Nigerian government were resolved.
According to a statement issued by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, both leaders finalised a historic agreement, which has resulted in the immediate cessation of the visa ban placed on Nigerian travelers.
He said by this historic agreement, both Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines are to immediately resume flight schedules into and out of Nigeria, without any further delay.
According to the statement, “As negotiated between the two Heads of State, this immediate restoration of flight activity, through these two airlines and between the two countries, does not involve any immediate payment by the Nigerian government.”
The statement said that in recognition of President Tinubu’s efforts in economic development diplomacy and the proposals he made to his counterpart, an agreed framework had been established. This framework will involve several billions of dollars in new investments from the investment arms of the Government of the United Arab Emirates into the Nigerian economy across a variety of sectors, including defence, agriculture, and others.
The two governments’ collaborative, new foreign exchange liquidity initiative, which will be published in more detail in the upcoming weeks, was also successfully negotiated by President Tinubu, who is happy about this achievement.
President Tinubu expressed his appreciation to his UAE counterpart, Al Nahyan, for his unwavering friendship and his commitment to working with him to fully normalise and raise the bar for relations between the two significant nations.
Credit: Daily Sun