In an effort to promote free movement of people and trade, Rwandan President Paul Kagame has announced that the country will provide visa-free travel to Africans.
With this move, Rwanda becomes the most recent African country to implement such a policy, joining other nations in their quest for continental integration on par with Europe’s Schengen zone.
Passports are no longer required within the Schengen zone, a group of 27 European countries that have successfully removed other forms of border control.
According to jerrymusa.com Kagame reportedly announced during a speech he gave on Thursday in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. Kagame stressed Africa’s massive untapped potential as a single tourist destination.
According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, international tourists currently make up 60% of the continent’s overall visitor volume.
“Any African can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish, and they will not pay anything to enter our country,” Kagame declared at the 23rd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
“We should not lose sight of our continental market. Because our middle class is growing so rapidly, as African ties become stronger, we will be the continent’s and the world’s future travellers.
Following in the footsteps of the Gambia, Benin, and the Seychelles. To strengthen the African ties Rwanda is preparing to lift its ban on Africans visiting other African countries.
Similarly, in a recent development, Kenya’s President William Ruto has unveiled plans to allow visa-free travel to Kenya for all Africans by December 31.