African participants in the first-ever AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2022) taking place in Bridgetown, Barbados, from Sept. 1 to Sept 3, 2022, would enjoy visa waiver requirements for passport holders from 24 African countries.

The development was contained in a statement signed by Deborah Ross, Senior Public Relations Director, BrandComms, on Thursday.

According to the statement, the benefitting countries would have otherwise needed visas to enter Barbados.

It said that citizens of the remaining African countries do not require visas to travel to Barbados.

It added that citizens of the 24 countries who register to participate in ACTIF2022, would be eligible for the visa waiver programme which allows covered visitors to enter Barbados without visas and to stay for up to 90 days.

“ACTIF2022, which is being held under the theme “One People, One Destiny: Uniting and Reimagining Our Future”, is being hosted by the Government of Barbados and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

“The 24 African countries to which the visa waiver decision applies are: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cape Verde, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti.

“Others are Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Sao Tomé and Principe, Sudan, South Sudan and Togo,” it said.

The statement quoted Kay Sealy, acting Permanent Secretary, Barbadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, who said that the move to add these countries to Barbados’ visa waiver list was to enhance business and investment opportunities.

She added that the visa waiver, also being extended to 19 non-African countries would facilitate the ease of travel for tourists.

“Participants in ACTIF2022 will include African and Caribbean heads of state and government, senior government representatives, business leaders, representatives of business associations, development agencies, multilateral finance institutions, think-tanks and research institutions from Africa and the Caribbean.

“ACTIF2022 is being held in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, the Africa Business Council, the CARICOM Secretariat, and the Caribbean Export Development Agency.

“It is co-managed by Invest Barbados and Export Barbados,” she said.