WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Nigeria has begun working on
the security and information sharing requirements for the
lifting of a U.S. travel ban on prospective immigrants from the
African nation, Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said
on Tuesday.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Washington with U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Onyeama said Nigeria was
'blindsided' by the U.S. decision on Friday to add it and five
other nations to an expanded version of the U.S. visa ban.
The action was issued as part of a proclamation by U.S.
President Donald Trump.
U.S. officials said the countries failed to meet U.S.
security and information-sharing standards, which necessitated
the new restrictions. "We've identified all those requirements and we have
actually started working on all them," Onyeama said. "It is
actually very straightforward and it was very gratifying to come
here and meet with U.S. officials and to understand more clearly
the reasoning behind it," he said.
Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, is the biggest
country on the list whose citizens will be suspended from U.S.
visas that can lead to permanent residency. Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan
and Myanmar were also slapped with a similar ban.
The U.S. government also will stop issuing "diversity visas"
to nationals of Sudan and Tanzania, Trump's proclamation said.