BUJUMBURA, January 24th (ABP) – The National Assembly of Burundi on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, passed the bill on the ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic passports between the government of the Republic of Burundi and the government of the Republic of Zambia, signed on June 14, 2024 in Lusaka, Zambia.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, Albert Shingiro, who represented the government of Burundi to provide explanations regarding the bill, recalled that on the sidelines of the 5th Session of the Permanent Joint Commission on Cooperation between Burundi and Zambia, held in June in Lusaka, the Burundian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation Mulambo Haimbe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Zambia, proceeded to the signing, on June 14, 2024, of a bilateral agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic passports.
He indicated that the aforementioned agreement provides for a regime for simplifying travel formalities (travel without a visa requirement), in favor of citizens of Burundi and nationals of Zambia holding diplomatic passports, who travel to the territory of the other party.
With the signing of the said agreement, the two countries have just set a new important milestone in the consolidation of their bilateral relations. It will facilitate high-level foreigners who contribute to further strengthening diplomatic and cooperation relations between the two countries in accordance with the principle of equality and reciprocity.
This decisive turning point is to be placed within the framework of the strategy initiated by the government of the Republic of Burundi, which consists of opening the way for opportunities in economic, commercial, tourist matters and others, thus promoting contacts between Burundians and Zambians, said Shingiro.
At a time when the preamble to the ratification bill recognizes that illegal cross-border movements of migrants constitute a threat to security, the members of the Committee on Social Affairs, Gender, Repatriation, Equal Opportunities and the Fight against AIDS asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs how this security threat is to be curbed by the visa exemption for holders of diplomatic passports when these illegal cross-border movements of migrants are carried out by citizens who do not have the capacity to hold diplomatic passports.
The Minister replied that the visa exemption agreement aims to facilitate the free movement of people. This agreement was concluded while recognizing that illegal cross-border movements of migrants constitute a threat to security; hence it was limited to holders of diplomatic passports who go on official missions to participate in meetings aimed at solidifying relations between the two countries. He added that the extension of that visa exemption to other types of passports will be examined later by mutual agreement between the two parties.
The said commission, referring to the speech by the President of the Republic of Burundi during the COMESA Heads of State Summit held in Bujumbura, on October 31, 2024, when he said that “from this meeting, Burundi will exempt the short-stay visa to all COMESA member countries”, suggested to Minister Shingiro, that it would be appropriate to revise this agreement in order to comply with the President’s speech.
The Minister replied that indeed, the speech of the President of the Republic of Burundi was delivered within the multilateral framework, and this gives the right to citizens from the member countries of this community to enter Burundi without visas for a short stay, but Burundians cannot travel to these countries without visas and without a bilateral agreement on the matter being signed or without a speech or declaration of the highest authority of the member country of the community with regard to this exemption; hence Burundi will have to seize the opportunity to negotiate and conclude such agreements within the bilateral framework, in order to ensure the principle of reciprocity.
The Speaker of the National Assembly took the opportunity to ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs to take, via the embassies, measures to repatriate undocumented Burundians who will be turned away from the United States of America, Canada and Europe. The Minister took note of this request and indicated that the protection of Burundians living abroad is among the flagship missions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation.
After analysis, the bill was passed with certain recommendations.