A man holds a South African passport. The first secretary of the
Tanzania High commission in South Africa, Mr Habib Mohamed, said the
decision to remove visas for the two countries was to reciprocate a
similar move by the SA govt after discussions that involved officials
from both nations. PHOTO | AGENCY
By Sylivester Ernest, The Citizen
The exemption applies to South Africans holding
ordinary passports who wish to visit the United Republic of Tanzania
for holiday, private and official business purposes and those in
transit.
Johannesburg. South African
travellers wishing to visit Tanzania for holiday or business have been
exempted from applying for a visa for stays of up to 90 days, the
Tanzanian High Commission in South Africa announced on Monday.
The exemption applies to South Africans holding
ordinary passports who wish to visit the United Republic of Tanzania for
holiday, private and official business purposes and those in transit.
The visa exemption applies for 90 days. The
decision to exempt South Africans from visa requirements took effect in
the beginning of July this year.
The first secretary of the Tanzania High
commission in South Africa, Mr Habib Mohamed, said the decision was made
on reciprocity purposes after discussions that involved officials from
the governments of the two nations.
Being a member of the Southern African Development
Community, Tanzanians visiting South Africa are also exempted from
visas for 90 days.
Earlier in an interview, the Tanzania high
commissioner to South Africa Radhia Msuya said the two countries were in
discussions on how to improve their relationships, with the recent
agreement being on exchange of information on different issues such as
the economy, tourism, immigrants and prisoners.
“We have now embarked on what we call a bination
commission, which is the highest level of co-operation amongst ourselves
… It covers all the areas involved in our co-operation,” Msuya said.
She said the agreements between the two countries
were being implemented through a joint permanent commission that was
tasked to work on economic issues, trade, diplomacy, tourism, and social
and political issues.
The ambassador said that, at the moment, there was
a group of South African youths travelling to Morogoro every year to
learn of the relationship between the two nations.
“I wish the youth of Tanzania could also do the
same. I would really want young people coming to South Africa to learn
more about the history of the two countries and not come here to loiter
and become destitute,” she said.
She said the relationship between the two
countries, has been benefiting both sides and that the government of two
countries were determined to improve it.
“You will know that Tanzania’s foreign policy is
anchored on promoting independence, self-determination, regional
integration and subsequently, socio-economic development. So our
bilateral relationship is very good.
SOURCE: THE ITIZEN
SOURCE: THE ITIZEN
