South Africa and Mozambique commit to maximising areas of cooperation

At the invitation of Mozambican President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday paid a working visit to the Republic of Mozambique.

South Africa and Mozambique have committed to maximising areas of cooperation that are beneficial for the neighbouring countries’ bilateral relations. At the invitation of Mozambican President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday paid a working visit to the Republic of Mozambique.

The visit was aimed at consolidating bilateral, political, economic and social cooperation between the two countries. President Ramaphosa was accompanied by a ministerial delegation and government officials. The two Heads of State expressed satisfaction at the excellent and ever growing bilateral cooperation between the two countries, which is managed under the framework of the Bi-National Commission.

The two countries have over 70 bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding in place, which cover a wide range of areas including energy, agriculture, arts and culture, defence and security, education and environment, science and technology, immigration, tourism, trade and investment.

The two Presidents underscored the need to ensure the full implementation of these legal instruments for the benefit of their respective countries. On regional issues, the two leaders noted that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region was politically stable, notwithstanding a few exceptions.

The two Presidents congratulated the newly elected President of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina. Mozambique and South Africa commended Former President Ravalomanana for graciously accepting the results and commended the people of Madagascar for conducting peaceful elections.

“Within the context of maintaining peace and security on the continent, the two Heads of State condemned the attempted coup in the Republic of Gabon.

“The two Presidents commended the Democratic Republic of Congo for conducting peaceful elections and noted the release of the provisional presidential results and the subsequent lodging of a complaint by one of the candidates,” said the Presidency in a statement.

During the visit, the two Heads of State reiterated the need for SADC regional economic integration through the implementation of the SADC industrialisation strategy and its action plan, the promotion of regional value chains and creation of industrial capacity.

“On the continent, the two Heads of State expressed their satisfaction with the growing number of countries on the continent signing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. In this regard, they urged those fellow African countries who have not signed to do so and ratify this important agreement,” said the Presidency.

The two Presidents reiterated the need to reform the United Nations (UN) system, in particular, the UN Security Council, to better represent the interests of developing countries. President Nyusi congratulated South Africa for being elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the next two years. President Ramaphosa extended an invitation to President Nyusi to the next session of the bi-national commission, to be held on a date to be mutually agreed through diplomatic channels.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)