TUE, NOV 14 2023-theGBJournal|Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has called for a quick resolution of the process of Visa allocation when he received the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja on Monday.
Wike noted that impasse was becoming too cumbersome and therefore hindering smooth relations between Nigeria and the UAE while also speaking on the lingering issue of travel bans and flight restrictions imposed on Nigerians by the United Arab Emirates.
“We also hope that the issue of visa ban and flight restriction of the United Emirates will be resolved as soon as possible. Nigerians love UAE, Dubai especially. We believe that we will not have hindrance in terms of visa procurement,” Wike said.
In his response, the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Al-Shamsi stated that Nigeria and UAE have a lot in common but explained that the travel restrictions were introduced to close existing gaps.
He said that the door to the UAE was not entirely closed to Nigerians.
“Regarding the VISA issue, I would say that the door is not closed, but it’s not widely open We issue a lot of visa daily. A lot of people from Nigeria go to the UAE and come back with very easy access to get the visa.”
Also at the event were the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Legal and Multilateral Cooperation, Barrister Benedict Dauda, the Secretary, Economic Planning Revenue Generation and PPP Secretariat, Mr Charles Elechi and senior officials of the embassy.
Earlier, Wike had called for cooperation and partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to develop Abuja’s tourism potentials.
The Minister noted that the UAE has become a tourist centre of the world and expressed the desire of the FCT to also improve its tourism potentials in partnership with the UAE.
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