Kenya and Benin have signed a visa-free agreement allowing citizens of both countries to travel for up to 180 days without visas, in a bid to boost tourism, trade and cultural exchange.

The deal was inked by Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi and Benin’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Oleshegun Adjadi Bakar on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

According to the agreement, ordinary citizens will benefit from the visa waiver while diplomats and their families will continue to follow existing visa procedures in line with national laws.

“Under this framework, citizens of Kenya and Benin will now be able to visit each other’s countries visa-free for up to 180 days, fostering people-to-people connections, cultural exchange, and economic opportunity. Diplomats and their families, however, will continue to follow the existing visa procedures in line with respective national laws,” said Mudavadi on X.

Mudavadi disclosed that the initiative, which began two years ago as an ambition to ease cross-border movement across Africa, is expected to foster stronger people-to-people ties and open new avenues for economic opportunity between the two nations.

In a separate engagement, the PCS also held bilateral talks with Venezuela’s Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs Yvan Gil Pinto.

The discussions centered on strengthening diplomatic ties and finalising a set of memoranda of understanding that will expand cooperation in key sectors.