Nigeria and South Africa have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to make it unnecessary for nationals of both countries holding official or diplomatic passports to acquire visa before travelling to either country.

The MoU was signed on Tuesday between President Goodluck Jonathan and his host, President Jacob Zuma, during a closed door bilateral session between the two leaders in the South African president’s office in Cape Town.

Other MoU signed between the two countries were on cooperation in legal field, oil and gas sector, power sector development, environment, defense cooperation, women development and empowerment, as well as child development.

There were also bilateral agreements on geology, mining, mineral processing and metallurgy and fields of information and communication technology.

The two leaders also agreed on the need for stronger cooperation in other sectors, including economic, social and political development on the African continent.

Speaking after the meeting, Zuma observed that Jonathan’s visit to South Africa had generated a lot of interest, excitement and optimism among its citizens in view of the historic relations between the two leading economies in Africa.

“We have a duty to take this historic relationship further. Our two countries have already grown very warm bilateral relations structured through the bi-national commission that was officially inaugurated in 1999,” he said.

The South African president observed with delight that over 100 South African companies were already doing businesses in Nigeria with the biggest investment being in the telecommunication sector.

Source: Tribune