Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are set to meet soon to address challenges regarding Nigerian visa applications to the UAE, especially for tourism purposes.
The decision comes after a recent meeting between the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Alshamsi, and the Nigerian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
“We want to ensure Nigerians can travel to the UAE without hindrance,” Odumegwu-Ojukwu said, emphasizing Nigeria’s strong diplomatic ties with the UAE.
In 2022, the UAE imposed a visa ban on Nigeria, following disputes, including the inability of Nigeria’s Central Bank to remit around $85 million in airline revenue to the UAE. However, the visa ban was lifted in July 2024 after both countries reached an agreement.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu highlighted that approximately 12,000 Nigerians currently live in the UAE, and in 2015, nearly one million Nigerians visited the UAE. She also stressed the need for further collaboration to better serve Nigeria’s economic interests, especially in areas like renewable energy and power.
“We hope that the joint commission will help us finalize agreements and boost shared economic goals,” she said.
The UAE ambassador assured that steps had already been taken to resolve the visa issues, noting that since his arrival in Nigeria, he had issued over 700 tourist visas without rejections. Both sides are optimistic about further strengthening their bilateral relations.