Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have decided to reciprocally do away with visa requirements, enabling citizens of both nations to travel freely between them.
The goal of the agreement is to improve trade and facilitate travel for individuals between the two nations.
The deal comes after officials from the two nations recently met in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, has been pushing for visa-free travel between the two nations for several months.
“In East Africa, crossing ought to be free of charge. When travelling to America or Europe, you have to pay for a visa, but what about the Democratic Republic of the Congo? That is untrue. When he opened the Mpondwe one-stop border station at Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in December of last year, President Museveni declared, “If that is the case, I have removed it.”
He requested in May that representatives from both nations expedite the introduction of visa-free travel.
Citizens of Congo and Uganda have previously protested about having to pay exorbitant visa fees at border crossings.
Below is the joint communique
