ECOVISA Technical Meeting Ends Abuja
Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
A three day Technical Meeting by Regional Experts in charge of issuing and control of visas in West Africa has ended in Abuja
The technical meeting was to validate the recommendations of the previously held Task Force meeting, harmonize cost and design of ECOVISA and deliberate on other associated modalities related to the implementation of ECOVISA.
The meeting was opened by the interim Chair of the meeting, Mr McArious Akanbong, who noted that the meeting was pursuant to the decision of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in 2000 and urged participants to work closely towards the realization of the set objectives.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Massandje Touré-Litsé welcomed participants on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, and the new management.
She reemphasized the commitment of ECOWAS Commission towards the actualization of ECOVISA which will boost tourism in the ECOWAS region as a major economic activity in terms of income generation, job creation, foreign exchange earnings and cultural exchange which must not be overlooked.
Touré-Litsé also underscored benefits of the implementation of the ECOVISA to the region to include foreign direct investment drive, strengthened private sector for industrialisation that can boost economic development.
He said that ECOVISA would play a vital role in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a tool to allowing citizens of third countries to focus on the region.
Head of ECOWAS National Office in Nigeria, Dr. Yakubu Dadu, recalled the details of the Experts meeting held in Accra, Ghana in April 2022 which set the ball rolling and reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment and trust in the ECOVISA Taskforce in executing the assignment given to them effectively and efficiently.
While the ECOWAS Component Manager of the GIZ support to African Union Border Program (GIZ/AUBP), Mr. Bakary Sanou, acknowledged the commitment of the ECOWAS Commission to the process and expressed GIZ-AUBP’s readiness to support the process for the implementation of free movement across the ECOWAS region for all.
The ECOVISA Experts also deliberated on the standardized cost of the ECOVISA, presented a specimen design and features sample of the ECOVISA for validation and validate the terms of reference for the recruitment of competent local service providers to develop the technology to be used for the ECOVISA.
ECOVISA is sampled from the idea of the Schengen visa which will give non-member states citizens access to any of the 15 Member States with one visa.
The 3-day meeting brought together experts in charge of issuance of visas, control of visas at entry points as well as participants from the ECOWAS Commission and GIZ-AUBP.
