By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider 

South Africa and Rwanda have agreed to start procedures that are geared toward easing travel restrictions as well as improving mobility between their citizens, which includes progress on visa normalisation and efforts to address restrictions that hinder Rwandan passport holders. 

This announcement was made during a joint press conference held on Wednesday 17 June in Pretoria made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Rwanda, Olivier Nduhungirehe, and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation for South Africa, Ronald Lamola. 

“Rwanda attaches great importance to its relations with South Africa. As two influential African nations, we are united by a shared commitment to peace, security, sustainable development, economic transformation, and the realisation of the aspirations enshrined in Agenda 2063” said Nduhungirehe.

He also cited the support given by South Africa to Rwanda in the post-genocide period, specifically in regard to education, health, economic development through scholarships, training programmes, and investment facilitation.

“These contributions reflect the strong bilateral relations between Rwanda and South Africa and demonstrate South Africa’s commitment to supporting Rwanda’s recovery, stability, and socioeconomic transformation” he said further. 

Lamola continues to describe the meeting as a vital step forward towards rebuilding and strengthening cooperation between the two nations. 

“Our leaders and heads of state have directed that we work closely to strengthen bilateral relations across various sectors, in addition to political, diplomatic and security cooperation,” said Lamola. 

He also noted that both nations have agreed to deepen their collaboration in Trade, investment, security, and people-to -people exchanges while addressing outstanding issues through continued dialogue. 

The emphasis on this move was to prioritise the enhancement of trade, cooperation, and movement between the two countries.