Pretoria- Tuesday 13th March 2018
His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu is in South Africa to consult with his counterpart on bilateral and regional matters.
And South Africa’s President, His Excellency Mr Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that he is coming to Zambia for a state visit.
Mr. Ramaphosa said that after he was elected as President of the Republic of South Africa, he embarked on a regional familiarization tour that would bring him to Zambia.
He said he started with Angola(Chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence, Peace and Security then Namibia the incoming Chairperson of SADC and Botswana the current SADC secretariat.
Speaking when he met President Edgar Chagwa Lungu at Oliver Tambo House, the official
Residence of the Deputy President, Mr Ramaphosa said Zambia and South Africa enjoyed cordial and warm relations arising from the two states’ historical, cultural, social and economic ties.
And President Edgar Lungu congratulated Mr Ramaphosa on his election as President of the ANC by the 54th ANC Conference held at NASREC in Johannesburg in December 2017.
He also congratulated Mr Ramaphosa for being elected as the country’s Head of State by Parliament in February 2018.
He said he was happy that the bilateral relations and cooperations between the two countries had resulted in economic and social benefits for the two countries.
President Edgar Lungu, who came from Botswana where he was part of the inspection of the works on the new Kazungula Bridge, was in South Africa to consult with his counterpart on regional and SADC matters including issues related to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kindom of Lesotho.
Recently President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila was in Zambia on similar consultations.
President Ramaphosa is the current Chairperson of SADC while President Lungu is the Deputy Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense and Security.
President Lungu was accompanied to lunch held in his honour, by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Joe Malanji, Presidential Affairs Minister Freedom Sikazwe, Zambia’s High Commisssion to South Africa, Emmanuel Mwamba and State House Private Secretary Daniel Siwo.
Mrs Naomi Nyawali
First Secretary-Press and Public Relations
Zambia High Commission.