Countries in the East African Community are designing a one visa system which will allow tourists to move across five countries on a single visa.

The aim of the single visa is to improve international tourism and make travel easier between Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan for citizens of each country.

“What we call a one-tourist-visa is that if you got a tourist visa to one of the member countries that have agreed to the arrangement, then you can use the same visa to shift into the next country that has agreed to the same arrangement,” Minister of Foreign Affairs, Barnaba Marial, told Eye Radio. “The issuing country that will collect the money will be shared out to all the members. That’s what it simply means.”

Honorable Marial also said that although South Sudan is not yet a full member of the regional economic bloc, the East African Community, the people of South Sudan will enjoy the privileges that come with one-tourist-visa system.

“It is to the East African Community we’ll begin to export our goods and enter that big market of one hundred and fifty million people,” he said.  “Don’t look at the short-term look at the long term, when South Sudan realizes its vision and becomes more developed. We develop our resources and begin to look for market to export them. Just as much as we are doing with Sudan for example, where we have a bilateral relation, we improve our relations, exchange our trade because we are also looking for a market for future.”

South Sudan currently has an observer status in the East African Community, but will soon become a full member of the community.

The one visa system will come into effect in January next year.