President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Tanzanian counterpart, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, have hailed the latter’s Official State Visit to South Africa as a fruitful success.

The two Heads of State and Government held a media briefing at the Union Buildings, where the Official State Visit took place.

President Ramaphosa said the two and their delegations held discussions on various areas of mutual interest, with at least 17 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed between Ministers of the two countries.

“This State visit has coincided with the 2nd Session of the South Africa - Tanzania Bi-National Commission. We have had the opportunity to take stock of the state of our bilateral cooperation and to identify new areas of cooperation. We are pleased that there are other Memoranda of Understanding that have been finalised, and we expect the respective Ministers to sign the finalised MoUs before the end of 2023.

“This work will be anchored and coordinated by the Foreign Ministries of the two countries, supported by a Mid-Term Review Mechanism that will monitor implementation of the Bi-National Commission’s work,” President Ramaphosa said.

The President said beyond relations between the two countries, regional and international matters were also given attention.

“Among other matters, we reaffirmed our shared resolve to ensure that the people of Western Sahara are able to exercise their right to self-determination. We will resist any efforts to frustrate the legitimate aspirations of the Saharawi people or to diminish their standing within the African Union.

“South Africa and Tanzania share common values and aspirations for stability and development of the continent and for strengthened cooperation among the countries of the Global South. There is indeed still much work to be done, but I am confident that we have laid a firm basis on which all of us can build going forward,” President Ramaphosa said.

President Hassan shared her country’s aims for the State visit.

“This has been such a colourful and fruitful State visit. This State visit attests to the solid historical relations that exist between our two countries. I’m confident that this visit will further solidify our long-standing ties and unlock new opportunities for trade and investment.

“Long live the bilateral ties and cooperation between the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of South Africa!” she said. –

Source: South African Government News Agency