China Allows Citizens from 74 Countries to Enter without Visa--2 from Africa

 The Associated Press published on 9 July 2025 an article titled "Citizens of More Than 70 Countries Can Now Visit China Without a Visa" by Fu Ting.  

China has increased to 74 the number of countries whose citizens can enter for up to 30 days without a visa.  Only 2 African countries--Mauritius and Seychelles--are on the list.  

Trump Travel Restrictions on African Countries Have Little to Do with Terrorism

 The White House published on 4 June 2025 a fact sheet titled "President Donald J. Trump Restricts the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats."

The proclamation fully restricts and limits the entry of nationals from twelve countries found to be deficient with regards to screening and vetting and determined to pose a very high risk to the United States: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The proclamation partially restricts and limits the entry of nationals from seven countries who also pose a high level of risk to the United States: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Comment:  Seven of the twelve fully restricted countries and three of the seven partially restricted countries are in Africa.    

Four of the fully restricted countries--Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Eritrea--were included because nationals from those countries have a history of disproportionally overstaying their visas after coming to the United States.  Three of them--Libya, Somalia, and Sudan--were included because the governments have no competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports.

All three of the partially restricted countries--Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Togo--have a history of disproportionally overstaying their visas after arriving in the United States.

Clearly, this proclamation, at least in the case of the African countries, has little to do with combatting terrorism and a lot to do with keeping people out of the United States from certain countries for other reasons.  

  

Xi Jinping Travels to South Africa for BRICS Summit, but No Other Stops

 The Diplomat published on 21 August 2023 a commentary titled "What Makes Xi Jinping's State Visit to South Africa So Unusual" by Shannon Tiezzi.  

Chinese President Xi Jinping is attending the BRICS summit in South Africa from 21 to 24 August.  In the past, his attendance at a BRICS summit has been linked to travel to other countries.  This visit is unusual in that he is only visiting South Africa on this occasion.   

UK Slaps Additional Sanctions on Russia's Wagner Group

 The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office issued on 20 July 2023 a press release titled "UK Sanctions Wagner Group Leaders and Front Companies Responsible for Violence and Instability Across Africa."

The new UK sanctions target 13 individuals and businesses linked to Russia's mercenary Wagner Group that has been involved in executions and torture in Mali and the Central African Republic and threats to peace and security in Sudan.  The sanctions will prevent UK citizens, companies, and banks from dealing with them, freeze any assets held in the UK, and ban travel to the UK.  

US Sanctions on Sudan

 The New York Times published on 1 June 2023 an article titled "U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Warring Sudanese Factions" by Helene Cooper and Declan Walsh.

This is a good summary of the most recent sanctions imposed on Sudanese companies and individuals by the United States and earlier sanctions following the military coup in 2021,

US Imposes New Sanctions on Perpetrators of Violence in Sudan

 Reuters published on 1 June 2023 an article titled "US Imposing Sanctions Against Those Perpetrating Violence in Sudan" by Daphne Psaledakis and Nafisa Eltahir.

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on two companies affiliated with Sudan's army and two companies affiliated with the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.  This action follows visa restrictions on Sudanese individuals associated with the Sudan Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces, and the former Omar al-Bashir government.  

The US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control published on 1 June 2023 a formal statement of Sudan sanctions called "Counter Terrorism Designations; Sudan Designations; Russia-related Designation Removal; Issuance of Sudan Licenses."  It identifies the legal names of the sanctioned Sudanese companies and, where available, provides websites.  

Ethiopian Airlines Continues China Flights

The Washington Post published on 9 February 2020 an article titled "'In Good and Bad Times': Africa's Biggest Airline, Ethiopian, Sticks by China's Side" by Max Bearak and Danielle Paquette.

Although most African airlines have temporarily stopped flights to and from China because of the coronavirus, Ethiopian Airlines is continuing them. The article explains why.

African Country Visa Policy for Other Africans

Each year the African Development Bank publishes the Visa Openness Index, which documents the visa policy of African countries when it comes to allowing visitors from another African country. The index demonstrates at a glance which countries are facilitating travel for citizens of other African countries and whether they allow people to travel to their country without a visa, if travelers can get a visa on arrival in the country or if visitors need to get a visa before travel. When the website opens, go to "Rankings."

In 2018, the most open countries were Seychelles and Benin, which allowed citizens from all other 53 African countries to enter without a visa. Rwanda, Togo, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Mauritania permitted nationals of some countries to enter without a visa and all others to obtain a visa on arrival. The Comoros, Djibouti, Madagascar, and Somalia allowed Africans from every country to obtain a visa on arrival. Uganda, Ghana, and Cape Verde allowed the nationals of all but one country to enter without a visa or to obtain one upon arrival. The most restrictive countries were Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Libya, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

African Passports and Global Mobility

Each Year Henley and Partners issues its Passport Index and Global Mobility Report. The 2019 Passport Index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations. For each travel destination, if no visa is required for passport holders from a country or territory, then a score with value = 1 is created for that passport. A score with value = 1 is also applied if passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor's permit, or an electronic travel authority when entering the destination. When a visa is required, or where a passport holder has to obtain a government-approved electronic visa before departure, a score with value = 0 is assigned. A score with value = 0 is also assigned if passport holders need pre-departure government approval for a visa on arrival.

In the 2019 ranking, African countries with passports having the greatest mobility were Seychelles (tied for number 27) and Mauritius (tied for number 31). These two African countries were followed by many non-African countries until reaching South Africa (tied for number 53), Botswana (number 62), and Namibia (tied for number 68). African countries were concentrated below the global median. African countries having passports with the least mobility were Somalia (tied for number 103), Eritrea (number 100), Sudan (tied for number 99) and South Sudan and Libya (tied for number 97).

The Henley Passport Index and Global Mobility Report contains a section on Sub-Saharan Africa and on North Africa.

Ethiopia's Omo Valley

The travel section of The New York Times posted on 30 October 2017 an article titled "Up Close With the Tribes of Ethiopia's Imperiled Omo Valley" by Andrew McCarthy.

This is a travel piece that emphasizes the ethnic groups of the Omo River Valley. It has some excellent photography.

Tourism Competitiveness: Sub-Saharan Africa

The World Economic Forum has just published its Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017. It evaluates 136 economies in the world. It has a section on Sub-Saharan Africa.

The highest ranking countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are South Africa (53), Mauritius (56), Kenya (80), Namibia (82), Cape Verde (83), and Botswana (85). The only other countries evaluated in East Africa and the Horn were Tanzania (91), Uganda (106), and Ethiopia (116). As compared to the survey done in 2015, Tanzania, Uganda, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, and Mozambique improved their performance while Namibia and South Africa lost some ground.

Stunning Travel Photos of Ethiopia

In a blog contribution titled "Travel to Ethiopia: First Impressions," husband and wife Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott provide some excellent photographs of various aspects of Ethiopia.

Olivier Grundewald adds some incredible pictures taken in Ethiopia's Danakil Depression.

Great Journeys published on 6 June 2014 a travel article titled "On Foot Through Ethiopia's Forgotten Land" by Mike Carter.  It includes pictures of landscapes in Tigray Region. 

Ethiopia: Land of Dust, Eucalyptus and Hope

The New York Times ran on 11 October 2013 a travel account of Tigray Region in Ethiopia titled "Ethiopia: Land of Dust, Eucalyptus and Hope" by Michael Snyder.