Visa-free entry for Africans, Benin follows Rwanda's lead

The President of Benin, Patrice Talon, has announced that his government would scrap visa requirements for Africans entering the west Africa country.

He made this disclosure on the first day of his three-day official visit to Rwanda where he told his host Paul Kagame that, Benin was learning from the lead taken by Rwanda in respect of helping achieve a visa-free Africa.

‘‘Learning from Rwanda, I have decided that Benin will no longer require visas for other Africans,’‘ Talon said bemoaning the extent to which Africans visited the rest of the world but not each other.

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President Talon: Learning from Rwanda, I have decided that Benin will no longer require visas for other Africans

— Presidency | Rwanda (@UrugwiroVillage) August 29, 2016

For his part, Paul Kagame revealed that the national carrier, RwandAir, will soon begin flights to Cotonou. He underlined the need for Africans to keep supporting each other to do the right things for mutual benefit.

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Africa Visa Openness Index

The first ever Africa Visa Openness Index 2016 published by the African Development Bank, ranked countries on the openness of their visa regimes.
The report indicates;

• Africans do not need visa to travel to 20 percent of countries on the continent
• 25 percent give visa on arrival
• 55 percent require visas before entry

Rwanda is in the top 10 countries. 11% of Africans don’t require visas to enter whiles 89% could get visas on arrival. The report ranks its openness at 0.822. On the other part, Benin are ranked 31st, 30% of Africans require no visa to enter whiles 70% require visas.

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