By Bill W. Cooper
Foreign Affairs Minister Sarah Beysolow Nyanti has expressed doubts over the authenticity of the highly reported potential travel ban to be imposed by the United States government on Liberia.
She emphasized the importance of verifying information before reacting, but noted, “We understand and have read the news circulating on social media, but with what we have done since taking over, I don’t think Liberia will be placed on U.S visa restrictions.”
“Let be clear here: seeing information on the Internet or news reports in the New York Times doesn’t constitute the authenticity of the information. However, we have begun engaging our Embassy in the U.S. to validate this information.”
“Because as we speak, the government have not received an official communication from the U.S. concerning this information. Again, let’s be careful not to run too fast with social media information or base our thoughts on the assumption,” Minister Nyanti emphasized.
The Minister also stated that U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, Mark Toner, when contacted by the government, informed her that he has no information as it relates to Liberia’s potential Visa Restrictions.
“We immediately contacted the US ambassador, the government through the ambassador to ascertain as to the validity of what was being promoted on social media. As of the weekend, the ambassador indicated to me that he had no information about this and would seek more clarification,” she maintained.
Minister Nyanti made the disclosure yesterday, March 17, 2025, when she and her team appeared before the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Affairs to answer questions concerning issues relative to Liberia’s foreign relations, including the US government’s alleged visa restriction on Liberia, among others.
Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that the United States government has placed Liberia on a “yellow list” alongside 21 other countries, to face a potential travel ban, including visa restrictions, among others.
The designation further signals that these nations could be banned from travelling to America if they fail to comply with U.S. requirements regarding the sharing of information about incoming travellers, the security practices surrounding passport issuance, and the prevention of citizenship sales to individuals from countries subject to U.S. travel restrictions.
It also reported that countries on this list are given a 60-day window to address specific concerns raised by U.S. authorities, and if these nations fail to meet the outlined requirements, they could face travel bans that would restrict their citizens’ ability to enter the United States.
But addressing the report before the Senators, Nyanti disclosed that she has already dispatched a ‘démarche’ to the U.S., outlining Liberia’s recent efforts to enhance passport security and requesting further clarification on the matter.
A ‘démarche’ refers to a formal diplomatic representation, move, or manoeuvre, often used in political or diplomatic contexts, as well as used to describe a petition or protest presented through diplomatic channels.
She also narrated that the decision is meant to justify to the U.S. government why Liberia should not be listed on any potential listing of visa restrictions if only the information is factual or authentic.
She, at the same time, cautioned against accepting the unverified reports as fact while reaffirming Liberia’s commitment to strengthening its diplomatic and passport security measures for the betterment and safety of the country and its citizenry.
According to the Minister, while the government is taking the issue seriously and following every development religiously, there is no official confirmation of Liberia’s inclusion on such a list, and added, “I doubt if this information is indeed true.”
Meanwhile, Minister Nyanti also revealed that the Foreign Ministry, under her leadership, had embarked on several reforms at the Ministry, ensuring the rebranding and repositioning of the country’s foreign policy as was promised during her confirmation hearing.
She noted, “We have been approached by the US government directly on several occasions to say that our capacity in the US is very weak, that there was a need for overhauling the entire Foreign Service in the US.”
“And I can frankly speak that we use that as the entry point to look across the Foreign Service, to look at all of the needs we have been working to ensure that we can have rotation within the Foreign Service, to be able to meet the needs for the country’s representation, but to also provide a human face to how foreign service should operate,” Minister Nyanti added.
