According to reports, representatives of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have arrived in Nigeria to coordinate positions with federal government officials in preparation for the last phase of resuming commercial flights between the two nations and issuing visas to Nigerians.
The five-person delegation, which consists of Almannaei Khalid, Janahi Asma, Alshehhu Rasheed, Teo Teck San, and Alhosani Talal, reportedly landed in Nigeria on Sunday, according to Anaedoonline.ng.
The UAE team is already in contact with the appropriate Nigerian officials regarding the terms decided upon by President Bola Tinubu and Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at their meeting on September 10 in Abu Dhabi, according to a senior official from the Foreign Affairs Ministry who spoke to The Nation.
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The representative disclosed that several team members had already spoken with the appropriate Nigerian personnel.
He clarified that although the remainder of the UAE team, made up of executives from Emirates Airlines, is concentrating on flying resumption, some members of the group were assigned to address all matters relating to the visa suspension.
The Foreign Affairs source said: “They (UAE officials) came to meet with our own officials who have roles to play in fulfilling the agreements reached in Abu Dhabi. “I believe there are just a few more final touches to be put on the agreements, then those terms will become active.
“In essence, by the time these last steps are finalised, in a matter of days or weeks, the issue of visa ban and flight restrictions would have been sorted, and then flights by UAE airlines and our own Air Peace can resume their normal routes.”
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Recall that on September 10 at the Abu Dhabi meeting, Tinubu and Al Nahyan reached an agreement that the UAE’s suspension of commercial flights and its visa ban on Nigerians would be lifted in the interests of both nations.
Although Nigeria and the UAE have maintained diplomatic connections, things turned tense when, in October 2022, Emirates Airlines ceased flights to Nigeria and the Emirati government imposed a visa block on Nigerian passengers.
UAE had responded after Nigeria refused to return billions of dollars in blocked funds that belonged to Emirates Airlines.
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