ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) on Thursday commended Ethiopia for its announcement to ease visa requirements for African travelers entering the East African country.
Speaking at the joint session of the House of People's Representatives and the House of Federation of Ethiopia on Monday, President Mulatu Teshome, announced that his country would introduce a visa-on-arrival regime for all African passport holders entering the country starting from this Ethiopian fiscal year 2018/19.
Welcoming Ethiopia's measure, Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, reiterated his appreciation to AU member states that have already taken steps to ease the travel of African citizens on the continent.
He also urged all member states that have not yet done so to take similar steps, according to an AU statement on Wednesday.
The chairperson said he looked forward to the day when all Africans can freely circulate in their own continent, said the statement.
Mahamat underlined the need for all member states to become parties to the January 2018 Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment.
So far, 32 member states have signed this instrument, while only one member state, Rwanda has ratified it. Fifteen ratifications are required for the entry into force of the Protocol, according to AU.
