ADF STAFF
Ugandans traveling to neighboring South Sudan no longer require visas to enter the country.
The move reciprocates one taken by Uganda in September 2021 to scrap visa entry requirements for South Sudanese. South Sudanese Deputy Foreign Minister Deng Dau Deng confirmed the development and said that his country’s decision was in line with requirements of the East African Community (EAC).
The EAC is a regional intergovernmental organization with headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are the other member states.
In July 2021, South Sudan and Kenya also scrapped visas for their nationals traveling between the two countries.
South Sudan is the EAC’s newest member. Its founding treaty provides for the free movement of people and labor within the member states. The EAC’s common market also provides for unrestricted movement of goods and capital. It also allows right of residence, which is the right of a citizen in one country to live in another member country.
South Sudan joined the EAC in 2016 but has been slow in adopting some protocols, including the one establishing the common market.
EAC member states have launched an annual exhibition to boost tourism in the region after the COVID-19 pandemic, eTN Tanzania reported.