Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates reached an agreement allowing for the resumption of travel between the two countries, Nigeria’s information minister said on Monday.
The UAE stopped issuing visas to Nigerians in 2022 after Dubai’s Emirates Airline suspended flights between the countries due to an inability to repatriate funds from Nigeria.
Nigeria’s central bank has since cleared a backlog of around $137 million in foreign exchange owed to international airlines.
Information Minister Mohammed Idris said the deal includes the resumption of visa issuance to Nigerian passport holders for travel to the UAE, effective from Monday.
“This agreement includes updated controls and conditions to facilitate obtaining a UAE visa,” Idris said in a statement.
In May, Emirates said it would resume flight schedules to Nigeria in October, ending a nearly two-year halt to flights.
The UAE government has started issuing visas for Nigerians after a halt of nearly two years.
The governments of the UAE and Nigeria reached an agreement to resume travel between the two countries, Nigeria’s information minister said in a post on social messaging platform X.
The UAE stopped issuing visas to Nigerians in 2022 after Dubai’s Emirates airline suspended flights to the African nation due to delayed repatriation of funds from ticket sales.
The agreement includes updated controls and conditions to facilitate obtaining a UAE visa,” UAE information minister Mohammed Idris said.
He added that the resumption of visas will be effective from Monday this week.
The central bank of Nigeria has cleared a backlog of $137 million in foreign exchange owed to international airlines by January 2024.
In May, Emirates resumed flights to Nigeria by operating a daily service between Lagos and Dubai from October, ending a two-year flight halt.
