The African Union Council (AUC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have jointly urged African governments to accelerate the removal of visa restrictions that continue to hinder regional integration, trade, and economic development.

As African leaders gather for the 38th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethopia, the call for a visa-free continent has taken centre stage.

SADC Executive Secretary, Mr Elias Magosi highlighted how this is being done in the SADC region at the High-Level Strategic Dialogue on Accelerating Visa-Free Movement for Africa's Transformation convened on Wednesday.

"SADC‭ ‬Member‭ ‬States‭ ‬have‭ ‬already ‭developed‭ ‬and ‭implemented policies for the progressive elimination of obstacles to the‭ ‬ ‭ ‬movement‭ ‬of‭ ‬persons‭ ‬in‭ ‬alignment‭ ‬with‭ ‬the‭ ‬ ‭ ‬African‭ Union Protocol‭ (Right‭ ‬of‭ ‬Entry,‭ Right‭ ‬of‭ ‬Residence‭ and‭ ‬Right‭ ‬of Establishment).

‭"Member States continue to implement bilateral visa exemptions. To date,‭ three Member States ‭have exempted all SADC Member States ‭(Mauritius,‭ ‬Seychelles,‭ ‬ Zimbabwe);‭ ‬while 11‭ Member‭ ‬States (Angola,‭ ‬‬Botswana,‭ ‬Lesotho,‭ ‬Madagascar,‭ ‬Malawi,‭ ‬Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia, South ‭Africa,‭ Tanzania and Zambia) have exempted more than 10 ‭Member States.

One Member‭ ‬State ‭ ‬(Democratic‭ ‬Republic‭ ‬of‭ ‬ ‭ ‬Congo)‭ has‭ ‬exempted‭ five Member‭ ‬States.‭ Efforts‭ ‬include‭ ‬one-stop‭ ‬border‭ ‬posts‭ ‬and streamlined visa regimes," Mr Magosi said.

"Harmonisation of Laws Entry, for a lawful purpose and without a visa, into the territory of another State Party for a maximum period of 90 days per year for a bona fide visit and in accordance with the laws of the State Party concerned.

‭The Republics of Botswana and Namibia have negotiated a bilateral agreement for their citizens to use their national identity documents to enter the territory of the other to facilitate ease of movement.