The presidents of South Africa and Kenya have announced that a long-standing visa dispute has been resolved, and Kenyans will be able to visit South Africa visa-free for up to 90 days every calendar year.
South Africans already receive free visas on arrival in Kenya, whereas Kenyans are charged and must present proof of sufficient finances as well as return flight tickets.
The new agreement, which will go into effect on January 1st, was disclosed on Wednesday during South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s first official visit to Kenya.
[wonderplugin_video iframe=”https://youtu.be/v33OFGVuwhw” lightbox=0 lightboxsize=1 lightboxwidth=960 lightboxheight=540 autoopen=0 autoopendelay=0 autoclose=0 lightboxtitle=”” lightboxgroup=”” lightboxshownavigation=0 showimage=”” lightboxoptions=”” videowidth=600 videoheight=400 keepaspectratio=1 autoplay=0 loop=0 videocss=”position:relative;display:block;background-color:#000;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;margin:0 auto;” playbutton=”https://www.tvcnews.tv/wp-content/plugins/wonderplugin-video-embed/engine/playvideo-64-64-0.png”]
He and his Kenyan colleague William Ruto also gave their trade ministers instructions to remove obstacles that prevent trade between the two nations, which have among of the most developed economies in Africa.
Both applauded the African Union-mediated Ethiopia peace accord, which was reached last week in South Africa.
They appealed to the parties to “ensure full implementation of the agreement to reach a lasting political settlement”.
Representatives from the Ethiopian federal government and Tigray regional authorities are meeting in Nairobi this week to iron out the details of the deal reached by African Union mediators led by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. Uhuru Kenyatta, Ruto’s predecessor, was one of the mediators.
