Ras Mubarak, former Member of Parliament for Kumbugu and leader of the Trans-African Tourism Unity Campaign, has been invited by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union Commission (AUC) to serve on a high-level panel on visa liberalization, days after his team completed a 31-country tour of the continent.
Mubarak revealed the development in a Facebook post on Tuesday, January 27, shortly after his campaign team returned to Ghana, describing his participation as a continuation of the group’s advocacy work for a visa-free Africa.
“On behalf of the African Development Bank Group, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, it is a great honor to invite you as high-level panelists. “A symposium on promoting a visa-free Africa for economic prosperity will be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Addis Ababa, Pier. Regular Summit of African Union Heads of State and Government,” the invitation read.
“I am pleased to accept the invitation of the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission to participate in a high-level panel discussion on the sidelines of the 39th Annual African Union Heads of State and Government Summit to be held on February 13 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,” he wrote.
The panel discussion on ‘How can we move faster towards a visa-free Africa?’ will be held on the sidelines of the African Union Summit and is expected to bring together policymakers, development partners and experts to consider practical steps to ease travel restrictions across Africa.
“These discussions highlight the growing consensus around a ‘visa-free Africa’ by 2030 as a realistic path to increasing tourism, trade, investment and economic resilience across our great continent,” Mubarak said.
He noted that this theme resonates strongly with the campaign he just led across Africa. “The themes of this discussion…resonate deeply with our ongoing campaign to make Africa visa-free by 2030,” he added.
Mubarak said he was honored to contribute to the platform and indicated that his role would focus on translating advocacy into action. “I am honored to contribute to this timely platform and share practical insights on proposing bold and actionable reforms to accelerate progress, address persistent bottlenecks, and achieve transformation in Africa’s mobility challenges,” he said.
“Now is the time for decisive action,” he added.
The invitation follows the return of the TransAfrican Tourism Unity Campaign team to Ghana after a nearly five-month overland journey covering some 40,000 kilometers across 31 African countries. Launched in August 2025, the campaign sought to appeal to African leaders, policy makers and citizens on the need to remove barriers to travel to unlock tourism potential, create jobs and deepen continental integration.
Following the team’s return, Mubarak spoke at Accra’s Independence Square and expressed his gratitude to the Government of Ghana, particularly the Office of the Chief of Staff and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for supporting this effort. He also acknowledged the support of partners such as the Ghana Tourism Board, which provided logistical and financial support.
During the visit, the team met with several African leaders, including Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Lesotho’s King Letsie III, Eswatini’s King Mswati III, Guinea’s Prime Minister Amadou Ouli Bah, Zambia’s Vice President WK Mutare Nalumango, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Tourism.
Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Shamima Muslim, who welcomed the team on behalf of the Chief of Staff, said the campaign was timely, noting that President John Dramani Mahama is set to take over as President of the African Union next year, when Ghana also celebrates its 70th anniversary.
He said the insights gained from the trip will support Ghana’s broader vision of advancing African unity and integration, stressing that meaningful continental unity cannot be achieved if the movement of Africans across borders remains restricted.
AfDB and AUC committee appearances mark Mubarak’s first formal role on the continent since his campaign and demonstrate growing institutional recognition of the Trans-African Tourism and Unity Campaign’s advocacy for a visa-free Africa by 2030.
The African Development Bank Group acknowledged that all of Africa’s ambitions for an integrated and prosperous continent depend on achieving visa-free movement.
“However, according to the 10th edition of the Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI), co-produced by the African Development Bank Group and the African Union Commission, only 28.2% of Africans traveling within Africa travel without a visa. At the same time, just over half of African domestic travel still requires a visa before departure, and the recent transition from visa-on-arrival systems to electronic visas and electronic travel authorizations has introduced new costs, complexities and complications.”
With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement now operational and AU member states pursuing a single African air transport market, the African Development Bank Group believes that visa-free travel will become even more urgent to reap Africa’s demographic dividend and the economic potential of creating a prosperous Africa. ”
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