Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finalised an agreement with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which has led to the immediate lifting of the visa ban that was placed on Nigerian travellers by the UAE.
This was revealed in a statement released by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale. It was also revealed that due to this agreement, both Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines will immediately resume flight schedules into and out of Nigeria.
The statement read, “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.
“In recognition of President Tinubu’s economic development diplomacy drive and proposals today presented by President Tinubu to his counterpart, an agreed framework has been established, which will involve several billions of US dollars worth of new investments into the Nigerian economy across multiple sectors, including defence, agriculture and others, by the investment arms of the Government of the United Arab Emirates.
“Additionally, President Tinubu is pleased to have successfully negotiated a joint, new foreign exchange liquidity programme between the two Governments, which will be announced in detail in the coming weeks.”
Tinubu then commended the President of the UAE for their shared relationship and efforts to “join hands with him to fully normalize and reset to excellence, the standard of relations between the two important countries.”
In 2022, the UAE banned nationals of Nigeria and a few other African countries from entering its capital city, Dubai, when it released a notice which partly read, “This is to inform you that we will not be posting 30 days visa applications for these nationalities effective today October 18, 2022.”
President Tinubu, on Monday, met with the leadership of the UAE to discuss the lifting of the visa ban, resumption of flights and other diplomatic matters.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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