Brussels, 08/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Senegalese government has decided that it is soon to reintroduce visas for entry onto its territory for nationals of the European Union. This system had been suspended in 1996 by the former regime, by request of employers within the tourism sector, with the hope of attracting a greater number of tourists to the country. "This is the law recently voted on by the Parliament and promulgated by the President, and which is about to be adopted", the Senegalese ambassador to Brussels, Mame Balla Sy, told EUROPE on Monday. Until now, nationals of the Member States of the EU (which joined before May 2004) needed no visa for trips to Senegal of less than three months.
The Senegalese ambassador put forward two main reasons to explain this decision. Firstly, it is a technical choice, as part of VAT (value-added tax) "harmonisation" at 18%, to which Senegal subscribed within the framework of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Secondly, it was a political choice, described by Mr Sy as a "governmental opportunity", and one which subscribes to the idea that the absence of an entry visa for the countries of the EU "stems from an exception". The decision of the Senegalese government, which was originally planned to enter into force on 1 January, is still not applicable, as checks are currently being carried out by the Senegalese authorities, to measure the legal impact on relations between Senegal and the various countries of the EU. "There will be no decision unless we take account of bilateral agreements concluded previously", the Senegalese ambassador explained. This essentially means that for countries such as France, which have a visa exemption agreement allowing its nationals to travel freely to Senegal, their citizens should be able to continue to visit the country in the same way.
Many professionals working within the sector have criticised the measure, indicating that it had been taken "unilaterally". The president of the Senegalese union of travel agencies and tourism (SAVT), Mamadou Sow, described the measure as "inopportune and inappropriate", adding that it would strangle the tourism sector. Mr Mame Balla Sy, on the other hand, stated that the measure would "help to improve our tourism services and make them more attractive". According to a report published by the World Bank in 2004, the tourism sector is the second-largest source of revenue to the Senegalese economy, after fishing and ahead of peanuts and phosphates. (bc)