In a significant step towards promoting regional integration and facilitating cross-border trade, Uganda officially declared on Monday that nationals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will no longer require visas to enter Ugandan territory starting January 1, 2024.
The decision marks the conclusion of a series of negotiations initiated since the Democratic Republic of the Congo joined the East African Community (EAC) in July 2022. The move aligns with the EAC Common Market Protocol, Article 7(2)d, which mandates member states to allow citizens of partner states to enter without a visa.
During the eighth joint permanent commission meeting held in Kinshasa, DRC, from October 11–15, 2023, both countries reached an agreement to waive the visa requirement on a reciprocal basis, as disclosed in a statement from Uganda’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Cabinet Minute 374 (CT 2023), following the agreement, was deliberated upon, leading to the unanimous resolution to eliminate the visa requirement for both Ugandan and Congolese nationals traveling between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Uganda.
At the East African Entrepreneurship Conference & Expo hosted by the Nation Media Group (NMG) in Kinshasa last November, DRC’s Information and Communication Minister, Patrick Muyaya, urged member states to facilitate the entry of DRC nationals, emphasizing the country’s commitment to regional connectivity.
Kenyan Ambassador to the DRC, Dr. George Masafu, echoed these sentiments during the conference, stating, “Visas have been barriers to markets, and now borders must become bridges.”
The removal of visa restrictions is expected to foster economic ties between Uganda and the DRC, which have shared economic activities, including farming, mining, and forestry. The DRC, as Uganda’s top trade surplus market, has been a significant trading partner, dealing in exports such as cement, palm oil, rice, sugar, baked goods, and iron materials.
Uganda aims to boost its trade surplus with the DRC, which amounted to $241 million in 2020, with an additional estimated $177 million in informal trade exports, resulting in a total trade earnings of $418 million, according to official trade data.
