By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates are set to meet in the coming days to resolve ongoing issues concerning visa applications of Nigerians seeking to travel to the UAE.

The decision was made following a courtesy visit by the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Alshamsi, to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is according to a statement signed by the minister’s media aide, Magnus Eze, on Sunday.

Nigerians have faced challenges in obtaining UAE visas, particularly for tourism purposes.

In 2022, the UAE imposed a visa ban on Nigeria due to various diplomatic disputes.

Dubai’s Emirates Airline halted flights to Nigeria because the Central Bank of Nigeria couldn’t remit an estimated $85m in revenue to the UAE.

However, in July 2024, the Federal Government announced that UAE had lifted the visa restriction following an agreement between both countries.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said Nigerian passport holders could now travel to the UAE without any hindrance.

He also asked Nigerians seeking information on the updated UAE visa conditions can visit documentverificationhub.ae for further details.

During the meeting with the UAE ambassador, Odumegwu-Ojukwu acknowledged the strong diplomatic relations and strategic partnerships between Nigeria and the UAE.

She emphasised that Nigeria had remained committed to nurturing this relationship, which has spanned several years.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu noted that Dubai has become a popular destination for many Nigerians, with approximately 12,000 Nigerians living in the UAE.

These individuals, she noted, range from unskilled workers to professionals and students.

According to the statement, in 2015, nearly one million Nigerians visited the UAE, spending between $100m and $150m on visas alone and over $1bn on shopping, tourism, and other related economic activities.

The minister pointed out that the economic relations between both countries appeared to be largely one-sided and called for more areas of collaboration that could better serve Nigeria’s economic interests.

She also addressed concerns raised by Nigerians, including government officials, about the status of UAE visas, requesting clarification on whether new visa policies had been introduced.

There have been numerous concerns about the status of visas for the UAE. Even some top government officials are worried, and they raise their concerns.

“Is there a new visa policy for UAE? You need to let Nigerians know. We need to know what to tell our citizenry. Nigerians have invested massively in property in UAE, hosting conferences and tourism.”

Additionally, Odumegwu-Ojukwu revealed that a joint commission would soon be hosted in Nigeria, following the one held by the UAE in 2022.

This meeting will address various bilateral issues, such as power, renewable energy, and other areas of collaboration.

The minister expressed hope that the joint commission would provide an opportunity to finalise outstanding memoranda of understanding and make progress on shared economic goals.

“We want to reciprocate by hosting the joint commission in Nigeria. There are several bilateral issues such as power, renewable energy and the rest things that we need to deliberate.

“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.

She also thanked the UAE for its recent donation of relief materials to Nigeria’s flood victims and vaccines for chickenpox patients, which have supported the country’s health institutions.

In his remarks, Ambassador Alshamsi congratulated Odumegwu-Ojukwu on her recent appointment and expressed his satisfaction with the achievements in Nigeria-UAE relations over the past 50 years.

He assured the minister that he had issued numerous visas to both government officials and private individuals and stated his commitment to resolving the visa challenges facing Nigerians.

Since his arrival in Nigeria over a year ago, Alshamsi said he had issued over 700 tourism visas and would continue working to improve the process.

He also mentioned that several agreements had already been signed, with more planned before the Nigerian President’s scheduled visit to the UAE in the second quarter of the year.

The envoy noted, “We have increased visa issuance through the agent. I have had zero visa rejections 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.”l