Nigeria and South Africa have agreed to take decisive steps toward resolving visa-related challenges and enhancing bilateral relations across multiple sectors, including trade, defence, energy, and cultural exchange.
This was the outcome of a high-level political consultation held on Tuesday in Abuja, where Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, led the Nigerian delegation, while South Africa’s Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms. Thandi Moraka, headed her country’s team.
In a joint communiqué issued after the meeting, both countries announced plans to simplify visa processes for businesspersons and address persistent restrictions affecting travel and investment between the two nations.
The meeting also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening economic integration, consolidating political cooperation, and promoting people-to-people exchanges in line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Political Consultations signed during the 10th Session of the Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Abuja in 2021.
The communiqué further noted progress on the finalisation of the MoU on the Early Warning Mechanism, which both sides described as a transformative tool for managing consular and migration issues. The initiative aims to enhance coordination and facilitate smoother movement of people and goods, thereby boosting cultural, scientific, tourism, and business cooperation.
In the area of cultural collaboration, both nations reaffirmed their partnership in the film industry under the 2021 Audio-Visual Cooperation Agreement, which enables co-production, investment, and joint promotional activities.
Similarly, both governments acknowledged the signing of an MoU between the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and South Africa’s Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) in January 2025, while noting plans to formalize another MoU on Standards and Standardisation between Nigeria’s Standards Organisation (SON) and the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) by March 2025.
The meeting also agreed to operationalize the Joint Ministerial Advisory Council on Industry, Trade and Investment (JMACITI) to strengthen economic collaboration and oversight.
The communiqué further directed the convening of the 3rd Consular and Migration Forum (CMF) in Pretoria during the first quarter of 2026 to review outstanding migration and consular issues.
Commending the efforts of the Defence and Security Working Group, which held the 6th Session of the Defence Committee (DEFCOM) in Abuja in September 2025, both countries encouraged other working groups to accelerate the implementation of agreed decisions.
To ensure accountability, the two sides also endorsed the establishment of a Joint Implementation Committee (JIC), which will monitor progress on all bilateral commitments made during the last two BNC sessions and political consultations. The JIC is expected to meet quarterly for evaluation purposes.
Both delegations reaffirmed their commitment to continued engagement through regular political consultations and expressed readiness for the upcoming G20 Africa Outreach Meeting on Industrialisation and Agriculture, scheduled to take place in Abuja on November 3, 2025.
The next Nigeria–South Africa Political Consultation is expected to hold in Abuja in 2026, following a mid-term review meeting to be agreed upon through diplomatic channels.
