The G20, a group of 19 countries and the European Union, have joined because they concern the global economy.

For 2023, South Africa is the only African country we tracked for the group, but then they added the African Union in 2023, so President Tinubu did not attend the last G20 meetings in as one of the representatives of the AU.

Shortly after the meeting between Tinubu and Ramaphosa, South Africa will launch its official assumption of the G20 presidency from December 1, 2024.

Nigeria congratulates South Africa and commends its commitment to inclusive economic growth, industrialization, reducing inequality and ensuring food security, among others.

For the event, Ramaphosa pledged that South Africa would “strongly” support Nigeria, “a valued sister of the country”, to become a member of the elite group.

“Our (African) population is going to grow by leaps and bounds, and now as a continent we are going to make a lot of noise, and we want that big noise to be recognized in the countries that will be part of the G20, right now. ” he said.

“Following the attacks on Nigerians in South Africa, both countries agree to establish an early warning mechanism to prevent such attacks,” Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesperson, said on Tuesday. in a press release.

Onanuga said South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, had promised that both sides would pick up the pace to reach a memorandum of understanding which they would sign by March 2025 when Lamola is said to be visiting Nigeria.

Nigerians living in South Africa commonly face xenophobic attacks from the country’s citizens, with the latest attack taking place in 2019.

Many Nigerians are losing their businesses and livelihoods as angry mobs burn shops and attack pipo who are not citizens, amid major allegations that they are behind a growing drug problem among the young people of Kontri.

According to Bayo Onanuga, President Ramaphosa bin also expressed interest in collaboration between South Africa and Nigeria “to exploit critical minerals, particularly lithium, to drive the green energy transition and support the development of electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Nigeria has ample lithium deposits for states like Kwara, Kogi, Ekiti and Nasarawa, and just a few weeks ago, the Minister of Solid Mineral Resources, Dele Alake, said the Federal Government would soon commission lithium and rare earth processing plants by the first quarter of 2025.

At that meeting, Ramaphosa told Tinubu that South Africa would not develop an initiative that they said was going to drive massive investment in renewable energy and the green economy over the next few years.

“We suppose to leverage each other’s capabilities in mineral processing. We must work together to ensure that critical minerals are mined at the source. We call on companies to support and involve Diasef in these initiatives,” Ramaphosa said.

Presidents Tinubu and Ramaphosa ensure that every country is fully open for business.

Tinubu promises that his administration will provide stability, security and the rule of law so that businesses can thrive. We say the government is already implementing major reforms that will make Nigeria even more attractive to investors.

“Reforms are just beginning to see the light of day. You don’t get any beta investment in ODA in Nigeria. You can’t earn beta on top of your investments anywhere else except Nigeria,” Tinubu said.

“Nigeria and South Africa are twins coming together to fight not only for their survival, but also for the prosperity of their countries.”

For my part, President Ramaphose recalls how Nigeria and South Africa launched the Joint Ministerial Advisory Council on Trade in 2021 during their visit to Nigeria.

“Today, we agree on the full operationalization of the Council. This will support an environment conducive to improving trade and investment,” he said.

“We are greatly encouraged by the presence of South African companies in Nigeria, just as we welcome Nigerian companies to South Africa.

“We will recognize that the challenges that still exist in our operating environments limit the expansion of investments and sometimes impact business operations.

“We need to remove the remaining constraints on increased investment, just as we need to address some of the challenges businesses face.”

The two presidents also agreed that member countries will find a way to work together during the African Union elections to be held in February 2025, to ensure that only candidates committed to advancing the African Union’s development agenda Africa will emerge as leaders.

South Africa is pleading with Nigeria to support its candidate, Ms Swazi Tshabalala, for the post of president of the African Development Bank, when the term of the current president – Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina – expires in September 2025.

Likewise, Nigeria calls on South Africa to support the re-election of Ambassador Bankole Adeoye as African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security.