Samoa, Vanuatu sign visa waiver agreements with EU

Samoa and Vanuatu have signed visa waiver agreements with the European Union, becoming the first two Pacific island countries to do so, the Fiji-based Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) confirmed Friday.

The short stay visa waiver agreements were signed Thursday in Brussels, Belgium between the EU's Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos and Samoa's Ambassador to the EU, Pao Luteru and Vanuatu's Foreign Affairs Minister, Sato Kilman, the PINA-managed Pacific News Agency Service (PACNEWS) reported.

The visa waiver scheme is 90 days in any 180 days, and allows Samoans and Vanuatuans to travel to any of the 27 EU member states, with the exception of the United Kingdom.

The new visa waiver is expected to open up more opportunities in Europe for the people of Samoa and Vanuatu.

"We will have more opportunity to travel to Europe for various reasons whether it's social, culture or economic in nature but not for paid employment. It could be for trade and tourism related purposes. It does open up windows of opportunity for Samoa and indeed for the wider Pacific community," Luteru said after the signing, adding that the remaining Pacific island countries are expected to come on stream very soon.

The visa waiver is a clear demonstration by the EU of finding new ways for peoples of the two regions to benefit from the partnership, Kilman said, expressing the hope that more Pacific island countries will join the visa waiver agreement.

The agreement will encourage people to people contacts, boost tourism and invigorate business between the EU and the Pacific, Avramopoulos said. Endi