Remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the media briefing during the State Visit by President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Union Buildings, Tshwane

Your Excellency, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya,
Honorable Ministers,
Senior Officials,
Members of the media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish to thank President Kenyatta and his delegation for the productive discussions we have just concluded on several issues that are vital to the development of our respective countries and to the progress of our continent.

This State Visit has allowed us to take stock of the current state of our bilateral relations while also providing an opportunity to explore other areas of mutual interest and benefit for our peoples. 

South Africa and Kenya share a long history of friendship, mutual respect, common values and solidarity.

South Africa owes a great debt of gratitude to the people of Kenya for their unwavering support during our struggle for freedom.

President Kenyatta and I have reaffirmed the strategic importance of bilateral relations between our two countries and reiterated our desire to elevate the nature of the relationship, which would include the conclusion of a Strategic Partnership Agreement.

As we have just witnessed, our two countries have further broadened the areas of cooperation through the signing of a number of agreements and memoranda of understanding in the areas of diplomatic consultations and training, transport and air services, health, tourism, migration and return of nationals refused entry. 

The decision of our respective national airlines to deepen their collobaration is further testament to the growing ties between our two countries.

We therefore welcome the announcement that South African Airways and Kenya Airways have agreed on a Strategic Partnership Framework towards the creation of a Pan Africa Airline Group that draws on the capabilities and advantages of the two airlines.

A Business Forum, consisting of businesses from South Africa and Kenya, is currently underway here in Tshwane.

Through this Business Forum, participants have the opportunity to share information about the business environment and various opportunities, and to explore concrete proposals for trade and investment. 

Kenya is one of South Africa’s largest trading partners in Africa outside of SADC, and we are committed to increasing the volume and broadening the composition of trade between our two countries.

We want Kenya to see South Africa as a growing market for goods and services.

We will be working together to identify Kenyan export products for which there are great growth opportunities in South Africa.

We are also committed to investing more in each other’s economies.

As part of our efforts to promote intra-African trade, we will continue to look for opportunities to procure goods and services from each other before considering suppliers outside the continent.

I am therefore very pleased that President Kenyatta’s programme includes a visit to Transnet Engineering in Koedoespoort. 

The visit provides an opportunity to showcase South Africa’s capability in supplying to railway stock and rail-related products. 

Economic cooperation also requires progress in ensuring greater ease of travel between our two countries. 

We therefore acknowledge progress made in the areas of tourism and immigration, including the introduction of e-visas for Kenyans travelling to South Africa.

We are committed to exploring further measures to ease travel between our two countries as an important part of strengthening trade, investment, tourism and cultural ties.

We are therefore please to announce that a task team at the level of the two Presidents, President Kenyatta and myself, will be set up to improve ease of travel and address any visa-related challenges between our two countries.

During the course of our discussions, we reflected on recent developments in our respective regions, and particularly the situations in Mozambique, Sudan and Ethiopia. 

South Africa aligns itself with the SADC position to support and assist Mozambique in dealing with instability in the Cabo Delgado area. 

The Southern African Development Community continues to be seized with the situation in Mozambique and a consolidated regional approach in dealing with the matter is being pursued. 

With respect to the Sudan, we strongly condemn any unconstitutional change of government and call on all the parties to engage in constructive, good faith and peaceful dialogue to restore the country’s constitutional order.

President Kenyatta and I discussed the grave situation in Ethiopia. 

We expressed our conviction that there is scope for dialogue among the warring parties in Ethiopia, and that there is an urgent need for all parties to the conflict to commit to an immediate, indefinite, negotiated ceasefire and an inclusive political dialogue.

South Africa regards Kenya as its strategic ally in East Africa, which actively contributes to peace, security and economic development in the region. 

We appreciate the counsel of Kenya on issues affecting East Africa and the Horn of Africa and will support its efforts whenever possible and within our means.

We reiterated the fact that the need for long-lasting peace and security on our Continent has become more urgent as African countries operationalised the historic African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement on 1 January this year. 

South Africa and Kenya stand together with the rest of the international community in support of freedom and justice for all people.

We have reiterated our principled stance that the people of Palestine have an inalienable right to self-determination and nationhood. 

Unless the root causes of the conflict are addressed, in this case the illegal occupation by Israel of Palestinian land, there will never be enduring peace in the Middle East. 

South Africa agrees with Kenya that it is important for the UN Security Council to support the work of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. 

Like Kenya, we are concerned at the delay in holding the referendum, which is necessary for the realisation of the right to self-determination for the people of the Western Sahara. 

We are also concerned at the inadequate protection of the human rights of the Saharawi people.

I have assured President Kenyatta of South Africa’s continued support for Kenya’s tenure as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2021 to 2022. 

We welcome the stance that Kenya has taken in the UN Security Council on, among other things, the concerns of the African Continent, the need for a rules-based multilateral approach to global challenges and the promotion of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. 

The devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted numerous challenges within countries and shortcomings in the global response to such crises. 

We have agreed that South Africa and Kenya, as like-minded countries, should work together to build consensus on how our Continent should emerge from this crisis. 

President Kenyatta and I have been in regular communication on the latest developments around the acquisition and distribution of vaccines for the Continent. 

We have consistently advocated an equitable and transparent distribution of vaccine doses to developing economies.

It is unconscionable that the vast majority of the world’s vaccine doses have been acquired by wealthy countries, while low- to middle-income countries struggle to obtain sufficient doses for their populations. 

We call on all countries to support the proposal for a temporary waiver of certain provisions of the TRIPS agreement at the World Trade Organization to allow more countries to produce COVID-19 vaccines.

We are concerned that if the situation does not change, there is increased likelihood of vaccine resistance and more variants developing, much to the detriment of the entire world.

Both South Africa and Kenya have proven capacity and expertise in vaccine manufacture. However, we need support to enhance and scale up this capacity, including through technology transfer.

I am very pleased that President Kenyatta’s programme includes a visit to Aspen Pharmacare in Gqeberha. 

The visit to the facility will demonstrate South Africa’s technical capacity to manufacture and distribute vaccines for a global market in accordance with international standards and highlight areas of possible cooperation with Kenya.

Although African countries bear the least responsibility for causing climate change, we are among those that carry the greatest cost. 

South Africa and Kenya are blessed with extraordinary natural beauty and biodiversity. However, is at serious risk due the effects of climate change. 

If we are to respond adequately to this crisis, we need to see greater ambition and progress on mitigation, adaptation and the means of implementation.

The developed economies of the world – who bear the greatest responsibility for global warming – must dedicated substantial financial support to those countries that are facing the greatest damage and destruction.

Africa, in particular, needs support to protect vulnerable communities and enable countries to industrialise in a just and sustainable manner.

In conclusion, we have had an opportunity today to discuss in some depth several of the challenges facing our continent and its people.

But we have also discussed many opportunities for growth and progress.

We conclude these talks determined to deepen our cooperation so that we may together seize these opportunities and build the Kenya, the South Africa and the Africa we want.

I thank you.