Citizens from Comoros will soon enjoy visa-free travel to Kenya, President William Ruto on Wednesday, announced the government will abolish the visa requirement for Comoros citizens by the end of the year
"I give you a commitment that Kenya shall abolish the requirement of visas for all persons holding valid travel documents issued by the Union of the Comoros into Kenya, before the end of 2023," he said.
Ruto was speaking in Comoros during the 48th anniversary of the independence of the union of Comoros.
In May African Private Sector Dialogue Conference on Free Trade, President Ruto told the African delegates that, that might be the last time they will pay for visas to visit the country.
"This is home. We support wholeheartedly the AfCFTA and we must remove any impediments to the movement of people around our continent," he said.
Ruto had apologised to the African Private Sector Dialogue on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) delegates for paying visas to visit Kenya.
The President of Comoros Azali Assoumani welcomed Ruto's apology and joked that he might lose his passport and not go back to his country.
"My dear brother and friend Ruto will have to explain to my wife as I might not go back to my country because this is home," Azali said.
Comoros will join three other countries who enjoy visa-free travel to Kenya.
In February this year, Eritrea and Kenya agreed to permanently scrap visa requirements for their citizens.
In June Kenya and Djibouti pushed for a visa-free regime to spur trade between the two countries.
Also, Kenyans holding ordinary passports were granted visa-free entry to South Africa, according to a new visa-free regime between the two countries.
The President in November 2022 said the deal had been arrived at, after an intervention by South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa.
