Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have indicated interest to resolve issues relating to visa procurement by Nigerians seeking to travel to the country.
The decision was reached when the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Alshamsi, paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, in her office, in , Abuja, Nigeria.
Nigerians are currently experiencing difficulties in obtaining UAE visas especially tourism visas.
To this the Minister acknowledged the warm diplomatic relations and strategic partnerships that Nigeria has had with the United Arab Emirates, noting that Nigeria has remained faithful in their relationship, stressing that the City of Dubai in the UAE has become a destination of choice to many Nigerians.
According to her, : “in 2015 alone, almost a million Nigerians visited the UAE, especially Dubai, they spent between $100m-$150m on visas alone, and over $1billion, mostly on shopping sprees, exclusive of amounts spent on traders’ goods, payment of school fees, tourism and other related economic activities”.
The Minister explained that it was clear that the economic relations between both countries were predominantly one-sided, hence there was need to explore areas of collaboration that will enhance economic interests of both nations.
“There have been numerous concerns about the status of visa for the UAE. Even some top government officials are worried and they raise the concerns. Is there a new visa policy for UAE? You need to let Nigerians know. We need to know what to tell our citizenry. Nigerians have invested massively in property in UAE, hosting conferences and tourism”, she said
She also disclosed that another joint commission between the two countries was due after the one hosted by the UAE in 2022.
“We want to reciprocate by hosting the joint commission in Nigeria.
There are several bilateral issues such as power, renewable energy and the rest things that we need to deliberate. We hope that with the joint commission, we will be able to handle those MOUs that have not been treated. And we will achieve a lot,” the minister said.
