Last updated on November 25th, 2021 at 08:00 am
Kenya – Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa have urged more cooperation to restore peace to Africa’s conflict-ridden regions. Kenyatta’s two-day state visit to South Africa began with this statement. The two leaders met in Pretoria on Tuesday (November 23) to address the “grave situation in Ethiopia” and agreed that all parties must commit to an immediate, indefinite, and negotiated cease-fire, according to Ramaphosa.
They also condemned recent bomb assaults in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, that killed at least three civilians in what police described as a concerted attack by anti-government radicals. The two presidents discussed the topic of Islamic extremist violence in Mozambique, South Africa’s neighbor, as well as other African countries.
“Terrorism is not a war that can be won by a single country,” he stated. Kenyatta was alluding to Somalia’s al-Shabab, Nigeria’s Boko Haram, and the other Islamic State groups operating in Africa. We must always remember that, despite their separate names, they all work together as a team. As a result, we, as governments, must collaborate. There is no such thing as a Mozambican, Kenyan, Ugandan, or Congolese terrorist. Unfortunately, these are all young people who have been deceived and follow a false philosophy. As a result, we must collaborate in order to destroy them before they harm us, “Kenyatta stated.
Cyril Ramaphosa also noted that some African states’ combined efforts in combating the threat have shown some positive outcomes so far, but believes that much more can be done to avert future occurrences. Working together in our region, SADC, to address the Mozambican crisis has yielded a lot of fruit and progress in that theater, in Mozambique. However, as Uganda is currently experiencing the brunt of all of this, that theater can spread swiftly and easily. We’ve also worked closely with President Museveni, who has exchanged information with us on a regular basis. And we in South Africa, as well as the rest of SADC, are ready to help. “
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The ministers of both countries signed a number of agreements. Kenyatta is set to visit the Aspen Pharmacare factory in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) on Wednesday as part of his two-day tour to examine how Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccinations are made. The plant assembles J&J vaccines and has the capacity to produce around 220 million doses of J&J vaccines each year, with many of them being sold throughout Africa.
Outside of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community, Kenya is one of South Africa’s main commercial partners in Africa. The two leaders are optimistic that trade between South Africa and Kenya will improve in the coming days. “We’d like to see commerce between South Africa and Kenya become more equitable, because it’s now dreadfully skewed.” “I’d like to see Kenya’s trade with South Africa practically quadruple because it’s currently at an all-time low,” Ramaphosa added.
With over 60 South African companies operating in Kenya, South Africa expects to sell $500 million in goods to Kenya in 2020, compared to $22 million in imports.
