Nigeria and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas have agreed to sign a visa waiver agreement for both nations’ diplomatic and official passport holders.
The commitment on visa waiver was made by Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis during a courtesy visit by Ambassador Benaoyagha Okoyen, High Commissioner of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
According to a statement issued by the Nigerian Embassy in Havava on Wednesday, Okoyen paid Davis a courtesy visit in the presence of the Bahamas’ Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Fred Mitchel, on Monday in Nassau.
Okoyen is Nigeria’s Ambassador to Cuba, as well as the Bahamas, the Republic of Nicaragua, and Honduras.
According to the statement, the proposed visa waiver agreement between Nigeria and the Bahamas is intended to expedite the entry of citizens of both governments who hold genuine diplomatic and official passports into their respective nations, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
“The agreement, once concluded, would further protect the interests of both countries and strengthen their friendly relations.”
Okoyen attended the Bahamas 2023 Diplomatic Week, which honoured “50 Years of Foreign Relations and Beyond in an Independent Bahamas” from October 22 to October 27, 2023.
He also participated in a hybrid high-level panel discussion on “diplomacy and the next generation” along with other representatives of the Bahamas, China, Indonesia, the USA, and participating students from various schools in the country.
Okoyen also paid a courtesy call to Ms. Cynthia Pratt, the Governor-General of the Bahamas, who bid the high commissioner farewell as he took formal leave of the host authority in the Bahamas.