President Cyril Ramaphosa will host Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari for talks, to reinforce the bonds between the two countries after a wave of deadly riots and xenophobic attacks.
Nigeria recalled its High Commissioner and evacuated some of its citizens last month after a spate of attacks in South Africa left at least 12 people dead. Those attacks followed days of riots in South Africa that mainly targeted foreign-owned, including Nigerian, businesses.
South Africa’s MTN Group and supermarket chain Shoprite have closed all stores and service centers in Nigeria after their premises were attacked.
South Africa has seen sporadic attacks on migrants, including Nigerians and Sudanese, the worst of which occurred in 2008 when about 60 people were killed and more than 50,000 forced from their homes. Another seven people died in similar attacks in 2015.
Ramaphosa and Buhari will meet on October 3 in Pretoria, the capital, the presidency said in a statement Tuesday.
They’ll discuss ways “to strengthen political, economic, social and cultural relations that characterize the interaction between the two countries,” the presidency said.
