By Arnaldo Cuamba
At the invitation of Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique, Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa paid monday, 14, a working visit to the Republic of Mozambique. The visit is aimed at consolidating bilateral, political, economic and social cooperation between the two countries.
On bilateral issues, the two Presidents acknowledged the historical and fraternal bonds between the two countries dating back to the period of the liberation struggle against colonialism and apartheid 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
According to Joint Communique released to the press following the visit, the two Presidents noted the existence of over 70 bilateral Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding covering 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, amongst others
The two Presidents underscored the need to ensure the full implementation of these legal instruments for the benefit of their respective countries and peoples
Regional issues
The two Presidents noted that the SADC region was politically stable notwithstanding a few exceptions.
The two Presidents congratulated President-elect, Mr. Rajoelina on his election as President of Madagascar; 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
The two Heads of State re-iterated the need for SADC regional economic integration through the implementation of the SADC industrialisation strategy and its action plan, to promote regional value chains and creating 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
The two Presidents re-iterated the need to reform the UN system in particular the UN Security Council to better represent the interests of developing countries
