President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised that understanding and partnership between South Africa and Nigeria are critical for the success of the African continent.
The President was speaking following a bilateral meeting with his Nigerian counterpart, President Bola Tinubu, in Tshwane, on the back of the presidential inauguration held on Wednesday.
“For me, what matters most is to be able to have very good economic links with Nigeria. The two countries – South Africa and Nigeria – are very important in our continent and when the two countries work together, which we are, and we do things together, it benefits Africa,” Ramaphosa said.
“It is the two countries that are among the pillars of our continent and I’m particularly pleased that we support each other internationally in various fora, the UN [and other] multilateral institutions. Nigeria and South Africa are essentially joined at the hip and we want to engender good economic and trade relations between our two countries to address the challenges that our two countries face,” the President said.
On the domestic front, he said the African continent had received South Africa’s Government of National Unity positively.
“Through the Government of National Unity, we’re setting a very strong foundation for economic growth and to be able to attract investments,” he said.
Tinubu – who attended the inauguration on Wednesday – said discussions between the two heads of government had related mainly to the economy.
“I’m here to congratulate my brother for putting together a very impressive outing – particularly for the Government of National Unity to stabilise the politics. That is coming at a very challenging time for the rest of us in Africa to really come up with collaborative economics that will help our downtrodden and vulnerable people,” said Tinubu.
Wednesday’s inauguration, which saw Ramaphosa inaugurated for a second term in office, follows the May 29 National and Provincial Elections. The results of the elections produced no outright majority winner, requiring the leaders of different formations to work together in taking the country forward. – SAnews.gov.za
