South Sudan and Uganda abolish visas between the two

By Patricia Oyella

Ugandans traveling to its neighbour South Sudan no longer require visas to enter the country.

The move reciprocates one taken by Uganda in September to scrap visa entry requirements for South Sudanese that came into effect on Friday.

South Sudan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Deng Dau Deng confirmed the development and said his country’s decision is in line with the requirements of the East African Community (EAC).

South Sudan is the EAC's newest member and its founding treaty provides for the free movement of people and labour within the community.

Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi are the other member states.

South Sudan joined the EAC in 2016 but has been slow in some adopting some of the protocols including the one establishing a common market.

In July, South Sudan and Kenya also scrapped visas for their nationals traveling between the two countries.

This article originally appeared in BBC News.

Photo: Getty Images.