By Chris Muhizi for MCN.
On Thursday, Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, and Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, met at the Kinshasa Presidential Palace.
To address trade and security, the South African president is in the nation for a two-day visit.
Additionally, the DRC-South Africa Economic Forum, which brings together about a hundred businesspeople from the two nations, is being attended by both leaders.
The DRC-South Africa Great Joint Commission, a two-way organization comprising ministers from both sides tasked with working on amending bilateral agreements, was reactivated on Tuesday by the two parties.
As Kinshasa gets ready for a general election at the end of December amidst ongoing security issues in the east of the country, the president of South Africa pays a visit.
The two were scheduled to meet in the Palais de la Nation, the official presidential house in Kinshasa, where they would have a working lunch and talk about ongoing attempts to further improve relations.
Security and trade are top priorities, according to officials, as the visit takes place as Kinshasa prepares for the general election amidst security issues at home in the east of the country.
The DRC has always been a priority for South Africa. We are pleased to recall the timing of these meetings, which will strengthen the cooperation between our two States, particularly as South Africa has recently sided with Malawi and other SADC countries to assist the DRC in getting rid of the armed groups that were sowing terror on our territory, he said, referring to the southern African development bloc to which both countries belong.
In an indication of security collaboration, Ms. Thandi Ruth Modise, South Africa’s Minister for Defense and Veterans, arrived in Kinshasa on Monday before Ramaphosa’s visit. She was in charge of the grand commission’s combined DRC-South African Republic security committee.