Uganda and DR Congo agree on visa-free travel

KINSHASA, DR Congo. Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have agreed to mutually abolish visa requirements to allow visa-free travel between each country.

The agreement is aimed at easing the movement of people and strengthening trade between the two countries.

The agreement follows recent talks between the two countries’ officials in the DR Congo capital, Kinshasa.

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has for months been advocating for visa-free entry between the two countries.

“Crossing in East Africa should be cost-free. You pay for a visa when going to America, or Europe, but a visa to DR Congo?! That is rubbish. If that is the case, I have removed it,” President Museveni said last December when he launched the Mpondwe one-stop border post at Uganda’s border with DR Congo.

In May, he asked officials from both countries to speed up the process of introducing visa-free travel.

Both Ugandan and Congolese nationals have previously complained about paying high visa fees at border crossings.