Govt addresses temporal suspension of US VISA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in collaboration with relevant line ministries and agencies, is addressing the temporal suspension and restriction of certain United States Visa categories for Zambian nationals. Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Rodney Sikumba explains that various measures are being undertaken, including continued diplomatic engagements with US authorities to clarify compliance benchmarks. The media reports that Mr Sikumba adds that a review mechanism and pathway for the eventual lifting of the restrictions are being undertaken.

Speaking when he was giving a ministerial statement in Parliament, Mr Sikumba urged all Zambian citizens travelling abroad to respect the laws of host countries, comply strictly with visa conditions and return home within authorised periods. He said that through responsible conduct and continued diplomatic engagement, the government is confident that the temporal measures will be reviewed and lifted in due course. The Acting Minister noted that measures currently in force are specific, limited and corrective in nature.

Mr Sikumba clarified that the measures do not constitute a general travel ban and apply only to defined visa categories, such as Immigrant Visas, Non-Immigrant Visas subject to suspension and Restriction of Visa validity for certain categories. He reassured the house that Zambia’s trade and investment relations with the United States remain fully intact. “Exports, imports, investments, remittances, and financial transactions continue without interruption, and existing contractual arrangements remain unaffected,” Mr Sikumba stated.

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And the Acting Foreign Affairs Minister reiterated that Zambia remains firmly committed to lawful international mobility and to maintaining strong and mutually beneficial relations with the United States of America. Temporary, not temporal. Temporal means either that something relates to time, as in a clock is a temporal instrument; or that something is of this world and therefore subject to time rather than the timeless spiritual world, as in food is a temporal problem.

Temporary means that a state of affairs is limited in duration and will start and stop at some point, a situation that is not continuous. It’s like saying water is orange juice: both liquids but clearly very different. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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