Nigeria and South Africa have entered into partnership on solid minerals, agriculture and human capital development.
This follows the approval of the resolutions from the meeting of senior officials of both countries which took place on the 26th to 27th September, 2019 by a ministerial team of both countries prior to the commencement of the 9th session of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (NSABNC) which held with the Presidents of both countries in attendance between 2nd to 4th October, 2019 in South Africa.
The Senior Officials during their meeting reviewed the performance of the existing MoUs between the two countries and proposed a 2-year implementation plan to last from January, 2020 to December, 2022.
According to a statement, the Ministerial Session was co-chaired by the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor and the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyeama.
Members of the team included Ministers of Mines and Steel Development, Interior, Police Affairs, Trade and investment as well as Defence and their counterparts from South Africa.
The 9 areas of cooperation proposed by the senior government officials of both countries and approved by the ministerial team include: mineral beneficiation and processing; minerals & metals value addition; advancement of geo-scientific knowledge generation; regulatory framework and policy and investment promotion.
Others are joint study tour on Artisanal and Small Scale Mining (ASM) activities; Contribution to Energy Security; Capacity Building; as well as Contribution to Agriculture and Food Security.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite while speaking to newsmen said the meeting was timely and mutually beneficial as it provided opportunity for the two countries to discuss cooperation on different sectors, particularly the Mines and Steel Sector.
