UAE to lift entry and transit ban on travellers from 12 African countries
January 27, 2022, 8:02 am

UAE to lift entry and transit ban on travellers from 12 African countries

UAE-Dubai-Cityscape/Pixabay

The Straits Times reported according to Reuters, the United Arab Emirates will lift an entry and transit ban on Saturday (Jan 29) on travellers who had recently visited South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia and eight other African countries.

The National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) said late on Wednesday that it was lifting the ban on those who had visited certain African countries in the previous 14 days, imposed due to the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

The other countries are Tanzania, Republic of Congo, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

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Those travelling from African countries will have to obtain a negative Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test 48 hours prior to departure and a negative rapid-PCR test at the departure airport.

Passengers will also be tested on arrival.

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Those travelling from Uganda, Ghana and Rwanda will also have to take the three tests.

The changes come into effect at 2.30pm on Saturday.

Source: straitstimes

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.