{"id":69431,"date":"2025-07-01T15:35:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T15:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=69431"},"modified":"2025-07-01T15:35:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T15:35:46","slug":"nigeria-to-waive-visas-for-oecs-diplomats-deepen-afro-caribbean-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/07\/01\/nigeria-to-waive-visas-for-oecs-diplomats-deepen-afro-caribbean-ties\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria to Waive Visas for OECS Diplomats, Deepen Afro-Caribbean Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Adenike Lawal<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nigeria has announced plans to waive visa requirements for diplomatic and official passport holders from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), as part of a broader push to deepen Afro-Caribbean relations.<\/p>\n<p>President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made the declaration during his state visit to Saint Lucia, where he addressed a special joint session of the country\u2019s Senate and House of Assembly.<\/p>\n<p>The visa waiver is one of several strategic initiatives aimed at fostering long-term collaboration between Nigeria and the seven OECS member states; Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis visit is not just symbolic; it is a bridge to deeper engagement,\u201d President Tinubu said. \u201cNigeria is committed to strengthening people-to-people, cultural, and economic ties with the OECS.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tinubu proposed the establishment of a Joint Commission or Political Consultation Agreement to formalize cooperation across key sectors such as trade, education, healthcare, climate resilience, and cultural exchange.<\/p>\n<p>He also pledged to extend Nigeria\u2019s Technical Aid Corps programme to the Eastern Caribbean, providing skilled Nigerian professionals to assist in developmental areas.<\/p>\n<p>As part of its educational outreach, Nigeria will offer full scholarships to students from OECS nations, a move President Tinubu described as an investment in shared prosperity and knowledge exchange.<\/p>\n<p>During bilateral talks with Saint Lucia\u2019s Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre, both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to formalizing diplomatic ties and expanding cooperation in tourism, maritime education, and creative industries.<\/p>\n<p>Tinubu also highlighted Nigeria\u2019s readiness to serve as a key economic partner, citing the country\u2019s ongoing reforms and its strategic value as Africa\u2019s largest economy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTogether, we can drive investment, create jobs, and promote mutual growth,\u201d he said, noting that cultural diplomacy and visa facilitation are central to Nigeria\u2019s foreign engagement strategy.<\/p>\n<p>The OECS leaders warmly received the initiatives, describing them as a welcome step toward stronger South-South collaboration.<\/p>\n<p>Tinubu\u2019s visit marks a renewed push for Afro-Caribbean solidarity, anchored in shared history and a vision for collective advancement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Adenike Lawal Nigeria has announced plans to waive visa requirements for diplomatic and official passport holders from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), as part of a broader push to deepen Afro-Caribbean relations. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made the declaration during his state visit to Saint Lucia, where he addressed a special joint [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":69432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69433,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69431\/revisions\/69433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}