After Banning Nigerians, UAE Signs Visa-Free Agreement With Ghana

The United Arab Emirates and the Ghanaian government have signed a visa-free agreement, which was approved by the West African country’s parliament on Thursday.

This comes just a month after Henley and Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residency consultancy organization, described the Nigeria passport as the worst it has ever been during President Muhammadu Buhari’s rule.

Following the adoption of a Memorandum of Understanding by both sides, the deal between the governments of Ghana and the UAE was signed on Thursday, August 5, 2021, according to Peoples Gazette.

The MOU, according to the Gazette, is only open to holders of diplomatic and other official passports whose background and behavior are consistent with public and state security.

According to Graphic Online, a Ghanaian news outlet, the arrangement approved was for diplomatic, service/special, and ordinary passport holders to be excluded from entry visa requirements.

According to the news outlet, the agreement was signed on November 18, 2019, to waive visa requirements for holders of both countries’ passports before entering any of the regions, where they can only stay for ninety days.

Ghana has had productive cooperation with the UAE, according to Bryan Acheampong, Chairman of Ghana’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, and is prepared to develop the relationship with Ghanaian individuals and UAE officials.

“The agreement, which constitutes a comprehensive framework on visa regimes for both countries accordingly made provisions to cover the diplomatic, service, and ordinary passports for nationals of both countries,” Graphic Online credited Mr Acheampong to have said.

Explaining further,  Mr Acheampong said; “the Agreement did not impose obligations on the two parties to admit people who are considered to be of questionable character into their territories, neither did it impose any financial obligation on the two parties while neither country will obtain direct financial gains from their implementation.”

Despite the fact that Nigerians visit the Arabian desert in large numbers, the country does not have a visa-free agreement with the UAE.

Nigeria’s passport performed worse than the 2020 rating in July.

Nigeria’s passport was ranked 101 out of 199 nations in Henley and Partners’ latest passport index study, down six places from its 2020 ranking, with Nigerian passport holders having visa-free access to only 46 countries, according to The Gazette.

The UAE’s authorities have prevented their people from traveling Nigeria and other nations, according to the Gazette, as the country tightens its control over exposure to the spreading Coronavirus variety.