By Fawaz Adebisi
The visa ban imposed on Nigerians by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since October 2022 has been lifted with immediate effect, just eleven months after.
This was announced after a meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria and President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE on Monday in Abu Dhabi.
The two leaders also agreed to resume flight operations between the two countries through Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines without further delay.
The Nigerian government will not make any immediate payment for this restoration of flight activity.
Moreover, the UAE government has pledged to invest billions of U.S. dollars in various sectors of the Nigerian economy, including defence, agriculture and others, as part of President Tinubu’s economic development diplomacy drive.
President Tinubu also secured a joint foreign exchange liquidity programme with the UAE government, which will be detailed in the coming weeks.
President Tinubu expressed his gratitude to President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his friendship and cooperation in normalizing and enhancing the relations between the two important countries.
