Nigeria and Ethiopia have signed a visa waiver agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders.
On Tuesday in Addis Ababa, President Muhammadu Buhari and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed witnessed the signing by their Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and Gedu Andargachew, respectively.
A statement on Wednesday by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the field of Defence was also signed.
“The visa waiver agreement is expected to ease travels by officials and contribute to further strengthening of bilateral relations”, it noted.
The presidency said the leaders discussed how to explore new areas of collaboration to further enhance and expand Nigeria-Ethiopia bilateral cooperation.
The statement explains that MoU is in the coordination of efforts in the fight against terrorism and securing peace and stability in their respective sub-regions andAfrica.
The MoU is expected to also enhance bilateral military cooperation in the areas of training and education, technical assistance, exchange of visits and defence technology transfer.
The statement disclosed that Nigerian and Ethiopia agreed to swiftly conclude negotiations on the revised Bilateral Air Services Agreement and the MoU on cultural cooperation.
“The consummation of these two agreements will provide veritable platforms for deepening existing air transport services, tourism and cultural exchanges between the two countries”, it added.
DAILY POST reports that holders of Nigerian passports can currently enter 45 other countries visa-free.
See list below:
African countries
Benin republic (visa free)
Burkina Faso (visa free)
Burundi (visa on arrival for 30 days)
Cape Verde (visa on arrival)
Cameroon (visa free)
Chad (visa free)
Comoros Island (visa on arrival)
Cote d’Ivoire (visa free)
Djibouti (visa on arrival)
Gambia (visa free for 90 days)
Ghana (visa free)
Guinea (visa free)
Guinea Bissau (visa free for 90 days)
Kenya (visa on arrival for 90 days)
Liberia (visa free)
Madagascar (visa on arrival for 90 days)
Maldives (visa on arrival for 30 days)
Mali (visa free)
Mauritania (visa on arrival)
Mauritius (visa free for 90 days)
Mozambique (visa free for 30 days)
Niger republic (visa free)
Senegal (visa free)
Seychelles (visitor’s permit on arrival for 1 month)
Sierra Leone (visa free)
Somalia (visa on arrival)
Tanzania (visa on arrival)
Togo (visa free)
Uganda (visa on arrival)
American countries
Ecuador
Barbados (visa free for 6 months)
Dominica (visa free for 21 days)
Haiti (visa free for 3 months)
Asian countries
Iran (visa on arrival)
Sri Lanka (electronic travel authorization)
Timor-Leste (visa on arrival for 30 days)
Bangladesh (visa on arrival)
Oceanian countries
Micronesia (visa free for 30 days)
Nauru (visa on arrival)
Vanuatu (visa free for 30 days)
Palau (visa on arrival for 90 days)
Tuvalu (visa on arrival for 30 days)
Samoa (entry permit on arrival for 60 days)
Fiji (visa-free for 4 months)
Source: DailyPost
