Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma convened a summit on Wednesday to discuss South Africa’s migration policy, following the flare up of xenophobic attacks in different parts of the country recently.
The meeting, hosted at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria, was attended by several top government officials including Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, State Security Minister David Mahlobo, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe and Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.
A number of business and religious leaders were also in attendance at the crowded meeting.
In a statement, the presidency said the consultative meeting would discuss the country’s migration policy and “how various sectors can work with government to promote orderly migration”.
The summit would also seek ways of fostering good relations between SA citizens and foreign nationals.
On Thursday, Zuma is scheduled to meet leaders of African, Pakistan and Bangladesh nationals at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria.
The presidency said Thursday’s summit would seek to ensure “that the shameful attacks on foreign nationals do not recur”.
“The meeting is part of building lasting partnerships with stakeholders in the country to ensure that the shameful attacks on foreign nationals do not recur in the country. Foreign nationals have for years been successfully integrated into many communities in the country and government thus seeks to gain lessons from these successes,” Maharaj said.
ANA