President Cyril Ramaphosa says his courtesy visit to Namibia paves the way for South Africa to work side by side with the neighbouring country on matters of economic and trade relations.
“For us, this is a very special moment and we look forward to serious engagements at a bi-national level. We will be back here and we will engage on serious matters of the economy, trade, cultural connections, political relations and deal with issues that are obviously aimed at developing our two countries and growing our economies,” said the President.
President Ramaphosa arrived in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, on Friday as part of his three-nation visit that includes Angola and Botswana to pay courtesy calls on the Heads of the respective governments.
Namibia is set to take over the chairmanship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) after South Africa in August.
The President was accompanied by the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and the International Relations and Cooperation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
The two countries have relations dating back to their struggles for liberation. The Namibian liberation movement, the South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO), formed ties with the now ruling party, the ANC.
“We have been comrades in arms and comrades in struggle and we move forward now as comrades in development, developing our countries…” said President Ramaphosa. – SAnews.gov.za
