ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (BG) – At the 38th African Union (AU) Summit, leaders are renewing calls for a visa-free Africa to accelerate regional integration, trade and economic growth.

At the High-Level Strategic Dialogue on Accelerating Visa-Free Movement for Africa’s Transformation, AU officials, policymakers, and business leaders emphasized the contradiction between regional integration goals and the fact that many Africans still require visas to travel within Africa.

“We cannot talk about a united Africa if Africans themselves cannot move freely within their own continent,” said Ambassador Albert Mudenda Muchanga, AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals.

He noted that visa restrictions remain a major obstacle to intra-African trade. 

“If we truly believe in the AfCFTA, then free movement must be the backbone of our integration. We must align trade facilitation with mobility—because goods do not move themselves; people move them,” said Prudence Sebahizi, Rwanda’s Minister of Trade and Industry.

The Africa Visa Openness Index, a joint AfDB-AU Commission initiative, shows slow progress in easing travel restrictions despite frameworks such as the AU Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons and the Agenda 2063 vision of a borderless Africa.

While countries such as Rwanda, Gambia, Seychelles, Benin and Ghana have adopted visa-free policies, many remain restrictive. 

“The vision of an integrated Africa will not happen by chance. It requires bold leadership and collective commitment to dismantle visa barriers,” said Nnenna Nwabufo, AfDB Vice President for Regional Development. 

With more than 50% of African countries still requiring visas for most Africans, restricted mobility is holding back business, trade and innovation.

To address this, the AU and AfDB have launched the 2025 Visa-Free Roadshow, a campaign to push for policy change and highlight the economic benefits of open borders. 

As the summit progresses, leaders will face increasing pressure to translate policy commitments into action.

The AU’s message is clear: free movement will drive Africa’s prosperity.