NIGERIA and South Africa have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to make it unnecessary for nationals of both countries holding official or diplomatic passports to acquire visa before travelling to either country.
The MoU was signed on Tuesday between President Goodluck Jonathan and his host, President Jacob Zuma, during a closed door bilateral session between the two leaders in the South African president’s office in Cape Town.
Other MoU signed between the two countries were on cooperation in legal field, oil and gas sector, power sector development, environment, defence cooperation, women development and empowerment, as well as child development.
There were also bilateral agreements on geology, mining, mineral processing and metallurgy and fields of information and communication technology.
The two leaders also agreed on the need for stronger cooperation in other sectors, including economic, social and political development on the African continent.
Speaking after the meeting, Zuma observed that Jonathan’s visit to South Africa had generated a lot of interest, excitement and optimism among its citizens in view of the historic relations between the two leading economies in Africa.
“We have a duty to take this historic relationship further. Our two countries have already grown very warm bilateral relations structured through the bi-national commission that was officially inaugurated in 1999,” he said.
The South African president observed with delight that over 100 South African companies were already doing businesses in Nigeria with the biggest investment being in the telecommunication sector.
He spoke of the plan for the country to expand into other areas such as engineering, construction, banking, oil and the media, noting the need for both countries to promote people to people relationship, especially through tourism, which he said had generated huge foreign direct investments for the country.
“Last year alone, South Africa received a total of 73,282 Nigerian tourists, which is an 13.8 per cent increase from 2011, contributing about 720 million Rands to the South African economy within the period,” Zuma revealed.
In his remarks, Jonathan noted that the signing of nine bilateral agreements between the two countries was a major achievement that would enhance the critical role of Nigeria and South Africa in transforming the continent.
Meanwhile, President Jonathan has stressed the need for African leaders to give the fullest possible attention to the economic emancipation of their countries now that they have successfully liberated the continent from colonialism, racism and apartheid.
Addressing the South African Parliament during his state visit , the President advised that leaders make building strong economies and strengthening democratic governance their topmost priorities.
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