Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome said on Monday that Ethiopia will soon allow fellow African citizens to enter the country without obtaining visas in advance.

Efforts are underway so as to start visa-on-arrival procedure for African travelers during the current Ethiopian year, which started on Sept. 1, Teshome told a joint session of the two houses of the Ethiopian parliament.

Teshome stressed that Ethiopia, which hosts various international and regional organizations such as the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, has strengthened efforts to enable fellow Africans enter the country without visa requirements.

An AU initiative on the free movement of people urged all African countries to issue visa-on-arrival as of 2023.

"Ethiopia, as a seat of the continental union, will be implementing it," Teshome said.

He said the visa-on-arrival initiative would facilitate the economic integration of Africa by pushing tourist flow to a higher level and help advance conference tourism.