Ethiopia, the second most populous African nation, is leading a push to make Africa a true unified continent, by offering visas-on-arrivals to any African national starting November 9. This was a vision Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had when he took over the nation earlier this year.
“Consistent with PM Abiy Ahmed’s vision of a closer and full regional integration in #Africa—where minds are open to ideas and markets are open to trade, Ethiopia will start on arrival visa to all Africans starting from November 9, 2018,” said Ahmed’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega on a Twitter post.
The policy will boost tourism and open up the east African country to African visitors and allow the free movement of African nationals.
Ethiopia is the second African nation to open its borders. June 1, Rwanda invited all Africans to travel there without visas. At the time, Ahmed promised that he would follow.
In his short tenure, Ahmed has made sure that his cabinet is 50 percent women, he has overhauled the intelligence agency, he got rid of the controversial state of emergency, welcomed back opposition leaders and ended a decades-old conflict with Eritrea.
Ahmed also appointed Sahle-Work Zewde as Ethiopia’s first woman president.
“In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalises women as decision-makers in public life,” Arega, Ahmed’s chief of staff, tweeted.
