Ghana and Slovakia to Negotiate Visa Waiver for Diplomatic and Service Passport Holders
Ghana and Slovakia have agreed to begin negotiations towards a visa waiver agreement for holders of diplomatic and service passports, following a meeting in Accra between Slovakia's Ambassador-designate, Martin Podstavek, and Ghana's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. The move is intended to facilitate official travel and strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. The agreement was reached when Podstavek presented his credentials to the Minister on Monday, 9 November, alongside ambassadors-designate from Sweden, Finland and Thailand.
For the travel industry, the development signals a gradual easing of travel formalities on a key West Africa – Central Europe corridor. Separately, Slovakia announced plans to host a Ghana-Slovakia business forum within the coming weeks, focusing on investment in the automotive, banking and pharmaceutical sectors, including a proposed vehicle assembly plant in Ghana. While the visa waiver currently covers only diplomatic and service passport holders, such agreements frequently serve as a precursor to broader facilitation measures that can, over time, benefit business and leisure travellers.
Source: Ghanaian Times