The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening ties with South Africa in bolstering shared interest between the two countries.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu disclosed this during the Nigeria-South Africa political consultations meeting co-chaired by her counterpart, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Thandi Moraka, in Abuja.
The meeting marked the inaugural session of the Early Warning Mechanism strategy established under the Bi-National Commission (BNC).
Truthng reports Nigeria and South Africa had in November, 2021 renewed their commitment to achieving the goal during their tenth BNC.
According to her, the meeting reaffirmed the brotherly relations between both countries as largest economies in the continent.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said, “The strong fraternal bond and excellent relations between Nigeria and South Africa is underpinned by combination of key factors, which historically began with shared anti-colonial and anti-apartheid struggle.
“It has evolved into a contemporary shared ambition for African leadership and development.
“This is an atmosphere we want to recreate within our two nations through these political consultations.”
For her part, Moraka described the meeting as a platform that would continue to serve both countries as model for deepening bilateral cooperation.
“It is a reminder that the two nations are intertwined and we can overcome any challenge that comes toward us.
“Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between us in 1994, our continent has transformed historical long solidarity into more strategic partnership.
“The Nigeria-South Africa in 1999 remains the corner stone of the partnership that we farther here today,” Moraka said.
Highpoint of the event was signing of agreement by both countries to hold the next round of political consultations in Abuja in 2026, following a mid-term review to assess implementation progress.
Both ministers reviewed progress on previous agreements reached during the 11th Session of the BNC, in Cape Town in 2024, and identified key areas requiring renewed focus.
This include trade facilitation, migration, defence cooperation, and cultural exchange, MoU between Nigeria’s Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and South Africa’s Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) in January 2025, to enhance airspace safety and efficiency.
The ministers discussed pending agreements such as the MoU on Standards and Standardisation between Nigeria’s Standards Organisation (SON) and the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), currently under legal review by Nigeria’s Ministry of Justice.
They mentioned planned measures to enhance defense, security cooperation and regional stability across the west and southern Africa.
