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Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will in the coming days meet to resolve issues relating to visa procurement by Nigerians seeking to travel to the Gulf country.
The decision was reached when the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Alshamsi, paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, in her office at the Tafawa Balewa House, Abuja.
Nigerians currently experience difficulties in obtaining UAE visas, especially tourism visas.
According to a statement on Sunday by Magnus Eze, a media aide to the minister, Odumegwu-Ojukwu stated that the City of Dubai in the UAE had become a destination of choice to many Nigerians.
Officially, about 12,000 Nigerians live in the UAE, ranging from unskilled workers to professionals and students in various institutions across the country.
According to her, in 2015 alone, almost a million Nigerians visited the UAE, especially Dubai and spent between $100m-$150m on visas alone, and over $1billion, mostly on shopping sprees, exclusive of amounts spent on traders’ goods, payment of school fees, tourism and other related economic activities.
The minister said the economic relations between both countries were predominantly one-sided, hence there was a need to explore areas of collaboration that would enhance “our economic interests.”
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said: “There have been numerous concerns about the status of visa for the UAE. Even some top government officials are worried and they raise the concerns.
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“Is there a new visa policy for UAE? You need to let Nigerians know.”
The minister disclosed that another joint commission between the two countries was due after the one hosted by the UAE in 2022.
“We hope that with the joint commission, we will be able to handle those MOUs that have not been treated. And we will achieve a lot,” the minister said.
In his remarks, Ambassador Alshamsi, who expressed delight over the achievements recorded in the Nigeria-UAE relations in over 50 years, gave his commitment to addressing the difficulties faced by Nigerian visa seekers as well as optimizing the various MOUs signed by both countries to foster different economic partnerships and the promotion of trade and investment.
“We have increased visa issuance through the agent. I have zero visa rejection since I came to Nigeria. Since I arrived a year and a half ago, I have made sure that I issue visas. We have issued over 700 tourism visas from July 2024.
“Sometimes, we might disagree on some issues, but there is nothing personal. But we could still resolve and agree. We want you to see us as part of your team, we are partners.
“We have signed three or four agreements and would soon sign another major agreement. We must try and sign more agreements before our President’s visit to Nigeria in the second quarter of this year.
“But we would hold a meeting to resolve these issues,” the envoy assured.
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