Announcement made on first day of African Development Bank’s Annual Meetings in Brazzaville
“The generation of 1963 gave us political agency; our responsibility now is to strengthen Africa’s collective agency,” Sidi Ould Tah
African leaders attending the African Development Bank Group’s 2026 Annual Meetings in Brazzaville on Monday marked Africa Day with the host, President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, announcing that the Republic of the Congo would waive visa requirements for all African nationals from next year.
The announcement, marking another significant step towards continental integration, drew prolonged applause from thousands of delegates attending the meetings taking place at the Kintele Conference Centre.
“As from the first of January 2027, nationals of all African countries will have visa-free access and will no longer need a visa to come to Congo,” he said, urging countries to move beyond “selfishness and nationalism” and deepen regional integration through practical implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The commemoration brought together African heads of state and government, ministers, diplomats, investors, development partners, civil society representatives, youth leaders, and private-sector stakeholders united around Africa’s regional integration and transformation agenda.
Observed annually on 25 May, Africa Day commemorates the founding of the Organisation of African Unity in Addis Ababa in 1963, which later evolved into the African Union. This year’s celebration is aligned with the African Union’s 2026 theme, “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.”
*AfDB
