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Opening borders when others close theirs
In stark contrast to the US and Europe, where there are increasing calls for stronger border controls and barring certain travellers from entry, African leaders are seeing travel and tourism as
a way to boost the economic prosperity of the continent.
The African Union outlines its plans towards seamless borders in the Agenda 2063 policy document. To this end, the African passport was launched in July 2016, allowing holders to travel visa-free to all 53 member states.
Research by the African Development Bank shows that in 2016, Africans did not need a visa to travel to only 20% of other African countries. In many cases, it is harder for an African citizen to enter an African country than it is for a US citizen.
Some countries, however, have made good progress, with Ghana starting to o er visas
upon arrival for all AU member states in 2016 and visa-free travel for 17 countries, many of which are fellow members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
We hereby adopt Agenda 2063, as a collective
vision and roadmap for the next 50 years and there- fore commit to speed up actions to introduce an Afri- can passport, issued by member states, capitalising on the global migration towards e-passports, and with the abolishment of visa requirements for all African citizens in all African countries by 2018.
African Union
Agenda 2063
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
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