Ecuador, Nigeria to sign visa-free agreement

The Ecuadorian Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Deopoldo Rovayo, has disclosed that his country and Nigeria have agreed to sign a visa-free agreement to strengthen bilateral relations.


Rovavo made the announcement in Abuja on Wednesday when he paid a courtesy visit to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olukunle Bamgbose.

He said the visit was to strengthen bilateral ties between his country and Nigeria, especially in the communication sector.

According to him, it was also to initiate an agreement between the two nations to enable their nationals to visit each other’s country without having to apply for a visa.

This, he said was necessary because the number of Nigerians in Ecuador were now increasing more than before.

The envoy said, “The purpose of my visit was to further cement the bilateral relations between Ecuador and Nigeria. The two countries have agreed to sign an agreement to enable our citizens to visit each other without a visa. There are approximately about one thousand Nigerians living in Ecuador and the number would continue to rise.”

Bamgbose assured the envoy that the Federal Government would work with Ecuador on how to implement the non-visa agreement.

He said that the two countries agreed on how they could strengthen ties as both nations were witnessing increases in trade.

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, he added, is stabilising and growing, noting that in the next two to three years, the growth of the economy would surpass that of most countries in Latin America.