President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has unveiled Ghana’s commitment to implementing a visa-free policy for all Africans traveling to the country in 2024.
The President revealed this initiative during the opening of the 2024 Africa Prosperity Dialogue on Thursday, January 25.
Addressing participants, President Akufo-Addo emphasized the government’s dedication to streamlining travel for Africans, stating, “The Government of Ghana is committed to ensuring visa-free access for all Africans traveling into our country, and the process has begun to implement the policy this year.”
To demonstrate this commitment, the President highlighted a special arrangement made for the conference attendees.
“I know that many of you had to acquire a visa to come to this event; we made a special arrangement for this conference. We reduced the visa acquisition fee by 50%, and we were thus able to receive your visa on arrival,” he added.
The three-day Africa Prosperity Dialogue, themed “Developing Prosperity in Africa: Produce, Add, Value, and Trade,” convened global business executives, thought leaders, and political figures at the Peduase Lodge.
Organized by the APN in collaboration with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat and the Government of Ghana, the event serves as an annual platform to strategize and collaborate towards building the world’s largest single market in Africa.
President Akufo-Addo urged a critical examination of these dialogues to meet the demands of the private sector and emphasized the importance of a united effort to strengthen African governments.
He stated, “Let us work to get the buy-in of the small trader, builder, farmer, and seamstress and make them believe that having a single market can benefit them as well.”
This historic move towards visa-free access aligns with the broader objectives of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues, which was officially adopted by the African Union on February 19, 2023.
The dialogues serve as a vital instrument for mobilizing private sector ownership and driving the continent’s AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) project, as endorsed during the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
