Ramaphosa holds bilateral talks with Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday cemented bilateral relations between SA and Zambia, the presidency said.

“The leaders identified the need for SA and Zambia to keep one another abreast of investment opportunities in each country and to actively encourage business to invest in areas of mutual benefit for regional development, such as in mineral beneficiation, local manufacturing and agriculture,” said acting presidency spokesperson Tyrone Seale.  

Ramaphosa’s office said the president welcomed Zambian counterpart Hakainde Hichilema, who is in the country as an invited guest, at a private function at the Mahlamba Ndlopfu official residence in Tshwane.

Seale said the two African leaders used the meeting as an opportunity to discuss matters ahead of an inaugural binational commission taking place later this year.

“Today’s meeting also touched on regional issues, reaffirming SA and Zambia’s common international policy of a stable and peaceful continent. This shared approach includes the use of multilateral bodies to advance the African agenda and that of the global South, and the collective solidarity of the Sadc community in the fight against terrorism and insurgencies,” said Seale. 

Ramaphosa, who is the AU Champion on Covid-19, commended Zambia’s fight against the pandemic, “reasserting that developing countries must have equity in developing and distributing vaccines”.

Seale said the two leaders also noted progress in the establishment of facilities in Africa for the production of vaccines and other therapeutics that will reach populations around the continent.

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