Why visa-free travel is back on Africa’s AfCFTA agenda
African policymakers, business leaders and development institutions are again pushing for visa-free travel across the continent, arguing that freer movement is essential if the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is to deliver real economic gains.
The call was reinforced at a high-level symposium on advancing a visa-free Africa, co-convened by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union Commission on the sidelines of the 39th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa.
Speakers said Africa has made progress on lowering trade barriers under AfCFTA, but restrictive visa rules still block the flow of people needed for services trade, investment, tourism and cross-border work.
“The evidence is clear. The economics support openness. The human story demands it,” said Alex Mubiru, AfDB’s Director General for Eastern Africa, urging countries to move beyond gradual reforms to “transformative change.”
Amma A. Twum-Amoah, the AU Commission’s Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, called for faster implementation of existing continental frameworks, describing visa openness as a practical tool for expanding regional markets and improving responses to economic and humanitarian shocks.
Former AU Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said free movement is central to the AU’s long-term development vision, Agenda 2063. “If we accept that we are Africans, then we must be able to move freely across our continent,” she said, urging states to implement the African Passport and the Free Movement of Persons Protocol.
Ghana’s Trade and Industry Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare said her country’s open visa approach for African travellers has already supported business travel and tourism, and helped attract investors.
Participants also pointed to new data from the Africa Visa Openness Index showing that more than half of intra-African trips still require visas before departure, which they said continues to slow down trade and integration.
Mesfin Bekele, chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines, said visa liberalisation should move alongside efforts to improve aviation connectivity, including full implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).
Organisers said progress toward a visa-free Africa will require political will and practical steps such as aligning migration policies, improving border infrastructure and building interoperable digital identity and information-sharing systems.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
