Leaders of the African Union have decided to introduce a single passport for the entire continent of Africa, similar to the one issued by the European Union.
African Union logo (web photos)
The main idea behind the single passport is to make the borders within the continent disappear.
The idea was borrowed from the EU Schengen free movement deal that made the borders seamless within Europe. 28 European countries can be explored with just a single passport.
At this moment, 13 African countries provide visa-free deals for the citizens and tourists. They either allow the tourists to visit any of those countries without a visa or they provide visa-on-arrival for travellers.
The African Union aims to abolish the need for any visa for the African citizens by the year 2018. Citizens will be able to roam in any of the 54 states of the African Union easily. AU also plans to establish free trade deal by 2017.
Heads of State throughout African continent will pilot the electronic African Union passport in Rwanda in July 2016 at the 27th African Union Summit.
African Union officially stated, “The specific aim (of the passport is) facilitating free movement of persons, goods and services around the continent – in order to foster intra-Africa trade, integration and socio-economic development.”
The single passport facility has the power to boost tourism in Africa and it can also strengthen the economy of the entire continent.
(c)breakingtravelnews.com
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