President William Ruto and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa signed bilateral deals in a bid to bolster trade and diplomatic ties between the two nations.

The two heads of state met yesterday at Statehouse Nairobi where they pledged to increase cooperation between Nairobi and Pretoria in the fields of trade, infrastructure and Information Technology.

“We are delighted to have presided over the signing of four instruments of cooperation that will play a definitive role in Kenya-South Africa relations. They are three MoU and one agreement on cooperation in the fields of correctional services, cooperation in the fields of housing, human settlement, cooperation between Kenya School of Government and the National School of Government from South Africa and agreement on audio-visual co-production,” said President Ruto.

The two presidents further directed their ministers of trade to identify, monitor, and resolve the Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) that limit the trade potential between both countries to strengthen trade and investment.

The highlight of the bilateral talks was that South Africa will now allow Kenyans holding a passport to enter South Africa Visa free for up to 90 days in a calendar year. This was even as the two governments agreed to work in tandem so as to prevent criminal elements from taking advantage and infiltrating their borders.

“The two countries have also agreed on a return policy when immigration laws and regulations are breached to make sure that bad elements that try to infiltrate our borders are dealt with firmly,” said President Ruto.

“Our officials will fasten the process of putting this into effect. We will review this in a year’s time or so to see how this is functioning,” added Rampahosa.

They also agreed to jointly pursue peace in the continent through the African Union and UN security council even as tension is simmering in the Great lakes region and the Horn of Africa.

“We are concerned over the continued threats to international peace and security particularly conflicts in the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes region and the Sahel and we appeal to all parties to ensure the full and comprehensive implementation of the agreement,” said Ruto.