South African authorities have confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari will undertake a State Visit to South Africa in October 2019 to reinforce the strong bonds between the two countries in the wake of recent xenophobic attacks.
This was contained in a statement at the weekend by Khusela Diko, spokesperson to the President, Cyril Ramaphosa. The statement further explained that the visit would present an opportunity for both countries to jointly develop responses to challenges affecting people and businesses in South Africa and Nigeria.
It disclosed that following the xenophobic attacks in the country, Ramaphosa held discussions on Friday with Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, Buhari’s special envoy. Abubakar’s visit was sequel to a recent meeting between Presidents Ramaphosa and Buhari in Yokohama, Japan, on the sidelines of the Summit of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.
In Friday’s discussion, Abubakar conveyed President Buhari’s concern at recent events in South Africa, in the context of the strong and cordial relations that characterise the interaction between the two countries.
“President Buhari conveyed his commitment to the values of prosperity and the advancement of Africa that are shared by South Africa and Nigeria”, it added.
“Nigeria stands ready to assist South Africa in establishing the root causes of and developing sustainable solutions to the challenges concerned.
“President Buhari has undertaken that where challenges emerge in Nigeria, the Nigerian government will act against lawlessness and the targeting of South African assets in Nigeria.
“President Ramaphosa reaffirmed South Africa-Nigeria relations as being firm and strong and said the two partners were resolute in their shared commitment to build an Africa at peace with itself and others.”
