As he returned from the G20 summit in India, President Bola Tinubu met with Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE, in Abu Dhabi on Monday. The two presidents have decided to lift the visa ban imposed on Nigerian travelers.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met in Abu Dhabi on Monday to lift the visa ban and agree on new investments in Africa’s largest economy. Mr. Tinubu made a stop in Abu Dhabi on his way back from the G20 summit in India, where he courted investors for Nigeria.
According to the statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, the immediate resumption of air travel through both countries and airlines does not involve any immediate payment from the Nigerian government.
The two leaders also agreed on a framework that will involve several billion US dollars of new investments in the Nigerian economy across multiple sectors, including defense, agriculture, and others, through the investment arms of the UAE government.
Last month, Mr. Tinubu expressed his desire for an immediate resolution of disputes with Emirates Airlines and visa issues in the Arab country. The United Arab Emirates stopped issuing visas to Nigerians last year after Dubai’s Emirates Airlines suspended its flights due to its inability to repatriate funds from Nigeria. Etihad Airlines had also suspended its flights to Nigeria.
“As negotiated between the two heads of state, this immediate resumption of air travel, through these two companies and between the two countries, does not involve any immediate payment from the Nigerian government,” said Ajuri Ngelale, a presidential spokesman, in the statement.
