{{Rwanda is seeking to sign a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with Nigeria to promote free movement of goods and services between the two countries}}.
The Rwandan Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Joseph Habineza, made the call at a dinner to mark Rwanda’s 51st independence and 19th year of liberation on Thursday in Abuja.
BASA is an agreement which two nations sign to allow international commercial air transport services between their territories.
Habineza said that the agreement should be signed by both countries to facilitate trade and free movement between Nigeria and Rwanda.
He expressed the readiness of the Rwandan Government to take advantage of the BASA to enable both countries benefit economically.
“We have our airlines coming to Nigeria but we have problems now because we have not yet signed the BASA which is a simple thing.
“But to implement it is a problem; if we have time to come up with policies then we should implement them. We need to focus on what we have to do to develop.”
The envoy condemned the constraints to free movement among African countries, urging African leaders to implement the goals of the African Union (AU) to enhance trade and development.
“Our problem in Africa is in the implementation of policies that should promote our development as a continent.
“We should focus less on just saying but implementing these policies as we have celebrated 50 years of the AU.
“ The founding fathers of AU had a purpose behind the setting up of the union and African leaders should change and embrace the essence of AU.
“We should start doing business among ourselves to promote integration and we need to promote free movement to make this possible.”
The envoy also urged African governments to reciprocate visa policies where necessary.
“African countries make it difficult for free movement to be possible and business is not possible without free movement.
“In Rwanda from Jan. 1 this year, we have made it possible that any African with a valid passport gets visa on arrival. Other African countries should adopt that.”
Reacting to the overthrow of the Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi, by the military on Wednesday, the envoy stressed the need for African countries to respect the rules and regulations of democracy.
“ As long as we don’t respect rules, regulation and democracy, we will always be at the mercy of foreign powers because if you look closely there are some forces that do not want Africa to be united.
“African Union is still theoretical; we should even have an AU army so that when we have such crisis we can intervene and solve our own problems.”
He also urged the media to portray the image of Africa positively, saying: “we need to promote our image positively and tell our own story rather than have the foreign media do that for us”. (NAN)
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