Pretoria - South Africa and Tanzania have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that they hope will further develop agricultural ties between the two countries.
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, and her counterpart Bernard Membe signed the MoU over the weekend, pledging to exchange expertise and conduct joint agricultural research.
Most likely, the deal will pave the way for South African farming companies to expand into Tanzania, providing that country with the expertise it needs to develop its farmland.
In a communiqu,, the two ministers said the signing "is a clear indication of the collective determination of the two countries to take relations to higher levels for the mutual benefit of the two countries and peoples."
The two ministers also exchanged views in respect of mutual cooperation at regional level, especially within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) framework.
They discussed issues affecting the continent within the context of the AU, more specifically, the conflict situations on the continent.
The two ministers stressed the centrality of SADC in the two countries' efforts to forge regional integration in southern Africa. They also emphasized the need for the AU to remain seized in those conflict situations.
