By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa and Belgium’s respective histories, which share some similarities, should form a basis for greater dialogue between the two countries.
Delivering his opening remarks during official talks at the Union Buildings in Tshwane, Ramaphosa said that the two countries have a lot to learn from each other.
Ramaphosa said the monarchs’ visit is about building bridges between Belgium and South Africa.
He reflected on how South Africa was deeply moved by King Philippe’s first Christmas address in 2013, where he paid tribute to the father of South Africa’s democracy, President Nelson Mandela.
King Philippe says the goal of the visit is to strengthen relations with South Africa.
“Through this visit we want to strengthen the collaboration between SA and Belgium and foster more dialogues between different sectors. Our companies are keen on investing more in your country.”
Ramaphosa expressed his appreciation to the Kingdom of Belgium for its role in the global fight against COVID-19.
Belgium is an important donor to the vaccine alliance GAVI, for the operation of COVAX, the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access initiative. Belgium has also donated more than 10 million vaccine doses, of which a significant proportion were sent to countries in Africa.
Belgium was also one of the earliest backers of the World Health Organisation’s mRNA tech transfer hub initiative in South Africa, operating from the understanding that long-term solutions are needed to address inequitable access to vaccines and therapeutics.
The President highlighted that today Belgium is a partner in the mRNA Transfer Hub in Cape Town.
“One of our companies, Afrigen Biologics, is collaborating with Belgium’s Univercells Group to develop a novel mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
“This cooperation will ensure that we are better prepared in the event of future health emergencies, and towards achieving our goal of producing the first African-owned coronavirus vaccine,” the President said.
Ramaphosa said South Africa was encouraged by the growth of trade and investment between the two countries, and that their respective tourism links are also developing.
There has also been good cooperation between the two countries when they were both members of international bodies such as the United Nations Security Council, and currently, on the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Ramaphosa emphasised that he believes that much more can be done for the two countries’ bilateral relations to grow and expand.