Pretoria – Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will hold bilateral discussions with her Tanzanian counterpart Shamsi Vuai Nahodha in Pretoria on Tuesday.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, the two ministers will meet within the context of South Africa’s commitment to strengthen relations with countries in the SADC region.
This is aimed at developing a comprehensive approach towards immigration in the region and includes the implementation of the visa waiver agreement between the two countries which was finalised in 2007.
SADC was committed to a common future that ensured the economic well-being, improvement of the standards of living and quality of life, freedom, social justice, peace and security for the people of Southern Africa, the department noted.
A key element in ensuring that this vision became a reality was the free movement of goods and people within the region, it added.
“In this regard, South Africa and Tanzania, have signed the SADC Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons during the SADC Summit in Gaborone, Botswana on 18 August 2005,” the department said.
The free movement of persons – which referred to the removal of barriers such as visa requirements which restricts people moving across national borders – was essential if people were to fully participate in the process of building the region into a community, the department added.
“Accordingly, Minister Dlamini Zuma’s discussions with her Tanzanian counterpart will consider current socio-economic conditions that either promote or impede the free movement of goods and services between the two countries, as members of SADC,” it said. – BuaNews
