PRETORIA - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will undertake a state visit to South Africa in October to reinforce "the strong bonds between the two countries" and jointly develop responses to problems affecting people and businesses in South Africa and Nigeria, the presidency said on Saturday.
In the wake of public violence in South Africa and developments in Nigeria around South African businesses based in the West African country, President Cyril Ramaphosa held discussions on Friday with Nigerian Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, Buhari's special envoy, the presidency said in a statement.
The visit to Pretoria by the special envoy followed a recent meeting between presidents Ramaphosa and Buhari in Yokohama, Japan, on the sidelines of the summit of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.
In Friday’s discussion, the special envoy conveyed Buhari’s concern at recent events in South Africa, "in the context of the strong and cordial relations that characterise the interaction between the two countries", the presidency said.
Buhari conveyed his commitment to the values of prosperity and the advancement of Africa that were shared by South Africa and Nigeria. Nigeria stood ready to assist South Africa in establishing the root causes of and developing sustainable solutions to the problems concerned.
Buhari had undertaken that where problems emerged in Nigeria, the Nigerian government would act against lawlessness and the targeting of South African assets in Nigeria.
Ramaphosa reaffirmed South Africa-Nigeria relations as being "firm and strong" and said the two partners were resolute in their shared commitment to build an Africa at peace with itself and others, the presidency said.