Following President William Ruto’s submission during the summit of the Three Basins on Biodiversity Ecosystems and Tropical Forests in Congo Brazzaville that Kenya would remove the visa requirements by the end of the year, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has eliminated visa requirements for all African nations too.
Kagame made the call for travel liberalisation throughout the continent and the region during the 23rd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in Kigali, Rwanda.
“We removed visa restrictions for citizens of every African country, as well as many other countries,” Kagame declared.
President Kagame stated in his keynote speech that Africa is the future of travel because of its rapidly expanding middle class, which is eager to see the continent. He also called for the opening of African skies and the lifting of visa requirements to allow Africans to travel freely throughout the continent.
Rwandan passport holders can travel visa-free to 33 destinations around the world without a visa, and citizens of 23 countries do not currently need a visa to enter Rwanda, according to the latest data from Visaguide.
According to President Kagame, the move was taken to support the travel and tourism sectors.
President Kagame declared, “Any African can board a plane to Rwanda whenever they choose and will not pay a thing to enter our country.”
The Rwandan passport is ranked 67th in the world by the 2023 Visaguide Passport Index.
Whereas some nations issue visas upon arrival, others may require an electronic visa to allow entry.
