Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, Roey Gilad, has ruled out the possibility of a visa-free travel arrangement between Ghana and Israel anytime soon.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Upside Down programme on Sunday, August 24, the envoy explained that despite the cordial ties between the two countries, issues relating to visa overstays and immigration remain a major obstacle to such a policy.“As much as Ghana and Israel are too far from each other, which demands you to fly over and makes it complicated, I think the traffic and dialogue between the two peoples is extremely active and I am very happy for that,” Ambassador Gilad stated.
He, however, stressed that the introduction of a visa-free regime was not feasible in the short term.
“I am not sure this is possible, not in the short-run. There is quite a significant number of Ghanaians who took advantage and stayed in Israel longer than expected in terms of the visa.”
The diplomat noted that until the issue of overstays is addressed and broader immigration concerns are resolved, Israel cannot move ahead with implementing a free visa arrangement.
“There are serious issues with your government, and when these issues are solved, we might have the policy of free visas. But I don’t see it coming in the very near future,” he added.
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