Kenya,Eritrea Permanently Abolish Visa Requirements For Their Citizens
Kenya and Eritrea have agreed to permanently scrap visa requirements for their citizens.
According to the two heads of state, the move will catalyse the countries economic transformation.
“We must have a regime that is free of barriers to further integration, strengthen connectivity and enhance regional trade,” said President Ruto.
Speaking on Thursday at State House, Nairobi where he met Eritrean president , Isaias Afwerki for bilateral talks, President Ruto said Kenya and Eritrea have agreed that there exists huge trade and investment potential between them that calls for structured collaboration.
Some of the areas Ruto and Afwerki touched on are renewable energy, water management, agriculture, transport, security, tourism, sports mining, the blue economy and education.
As at 2020, the trade volume between Kenya and Eritrea stood at Sh73.4 million as compared with Sh257 million in 2015.
President Ruto said the relatively low figures were an indicator that the opportunity in trade is “enormous”.
“With the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, we must cooperate in mapping out mutually beneficial strands of economic opportunities for our countries.”
On his part, President Afwerki said Eritrea was committed to taking measures that facilitate the deepening of economic, social and cultural relations with Kenya.
“We will keep promoting joint investment and work together towards enhancing sustainable peace and security,” he said during their joint media briefing.
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