Grenada signs visa waivers with several African nations

by Linda Straker

• Visa waiver agreements to facilitate movement of goods and people to enable business
• Established diplomatic relations with Cape Verde, Mauritius, and Lesotho
• In discussion with The Gambia, Senegal, South Sudan, Mauritania, Angola and South Africa
• Signed with Ghana, Republic of Benin, Kingdom of Morocco, and recently engaged Egypt

Grenada has established diplomatic relations with several African nations as part of its foreign policy to develop and strengthen its relationship with those nations. It has signed visa waiver agreements with some nations with which the country already has diplomatic relations. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Andall told the Parliament during his contribution to the EC$1.9 billion budget debate that Grenada has recognised the requirement to facilitate the movement of goods and people to enable business, which is the main reason for the visa waiver agreements. “We have been aggressively pursuing the signing of visa waiver agreements with a number of countries across the globe,” he said, sharing the names of the nations with which Grenada has signed.

“We have recently signed with Ghana, and we are awaiting ratification by their Parliament; you know they recently had a change in government, so if anything, there will be little delay. We have recently engaged Egypt; it is just a matter of time. We have already signed with the Republic of Benin and the Kingdom of Morocco. We are currently in discussions with Qatar, Angola and South Africa,” Andall said.

He explained that Grenada already has a road map with the Kingdom of Morocco on the way forward. “There is already a road map with Morocco, which includes the island receiving scholarships and fertilisers, signed agreement on the use of renewable energy where Morocco has developed quite a bit of expertise, and they are quite willing and prepared to share with us,” he said. The roadmap also includes an agreement on health and tourism: “These are areas that we are going to continue collaborating with the Kingdom of Morocco so that it can all come down to the benefit of our country.”

Andall listed the countries with which Grenada established diplomatic relations within the 2024 fiscal year. “Mr Speaker, in the last reporting period we have established diplomatic relations with Bangladesh, Cape Verde, Mauritius, Lesotho, Andorra and the Kingdom of Jordan. All of these signings give us the opportunity to engage with a wider cross-section of people; it gives us more options and therefore more leverage and more opportunities.” He added, “We are currently in discussion with The Gambia, Senegal, the Philippines, South Sudan, and Mauritania for the establishment of diplomatic relations.”

“It’s a competitive world out there. We have to start seeing certain things not just as expenses but as investment,” said Andall, whose ministerial portfolio covers Foreign Affairs and Trade and Export Development. That ministry has been allocated 1.2% of the EC$1.9 billion Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2025.