ECOWAS Reacts To US Visa Restrictions, Says It’s A Blow To Regional Prosperity

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has expressed deep concern over reports suggesting that all ECOWAS member-states may be affected by a new wave of United States visa restrictions.

This concern came after reports suggest that under President Donald Trump, the US government was considering new travel bans affecting Nigeria and several other African nations. The proposed restrictions, reportedly tied to compliance benchmarks set by the US State Department, would give the listed countries 60 days to meet new identity documentation and governance standards.

Countries on the proposed list include Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

According to a US government memo, some countries fail to meet benchmarks due to unreliable civil documentation systems or widespread government fraud.

However, speaking on Wednesday at the opening of the 54th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council at the Ministerial Level in Abuja, Tuggar warned that such a move would significantly hinder trade, diplomatic engagement, and regional growth.

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“It would be most unfortunate if it comes to pass, because we are a region of opportunities ready to do deals,” he said.

“We would like to do deals with the US, but visa restrictions are non-tariff barriers to deals.”

Tuggar described the policy as more than a diplomatic misstep, emphasising its broader implications for economic collaboration at a time when West Africa was positioned for strategic global partnerships.

“We possess critical minerals and even rare earths such as Samarium from the Monazite found in my home State of Bauchi,” he noted.

“We in this part of the world are students of the Art of the Deal and have been part of the international trading system even before the modern state system.”

The minister urged the United States to reconsider its approach, cautioning that the region has alternative options.

“ECOWAS countries and the US have a rare opportunity to create a partnership based on principles of need. We are also a strategic alternative to more distant and politically divergent energy producers,” he said.

“We will do deals for our prosperity; the only question is with whom? Who takes up the opportunities in our region by allowing government officials and technocrats, business executives and entrepreneurs to travel freely back and forth to close the deals?”