President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in Abuja urged a stronger emphasis on people-to-people relations between South Africa and Nigeria to evolve a bond that will be of benefit to both countries and the entire African continent.
President Buhari, who received President Cyril Ramaphosa, at the State House, reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to improving a “special relationship’’ with South Africa, which will translate into gains for the continent, particularly in education, science, trade and investment, tourism and security.
At the opening of the 10th Session of Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) held in his office, President Buhari said: “Mr President, permit me to state that some of the challenges identified during the last Bi-National Commission (BNC) have not been completely addressed. We need to ensure that our people-to-people relations are enhanced to a point where there would be no need for unhealthy competition.
“In this regard, we need improvement in educational and scientific cooperation, mines and energy resources, transport and aviation, tourism, youth exchange programmes, trade and investment and military cooperation, to mention but a few.”
Buhari also made reference to COVID-19 during his meeting with Cyril Ramaphosa, his South African counterpart, on Wednesday.
Recall that the South African leader, Ramaphosa arrived in the country on a three-day visit, at a time when there was global concern over the Omicron COVID variant, which was first reported in South Africa.
Many countries have been shutting their doors against South Africa since Omicron variant was reported in the country.
However, at the Aso Rock meeting, Buhari said he was glad that the 10th Session of Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) was held on schedule despite all the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nigeria detected three cases of Omicron hours before the arrival of Ramaphosa.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said among the cases were two persons who travelled from South Africa last week.
