By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone over the weekend and they each agreed to host “an African leaders peace mission” in Moscow and Kyiv, respectively.
Ramaphosa said, they have agreed to separate meetings with a delegation of leaders from six African countries to discuss a possible plan to end the war in Unkraine.
The leaders of Zambia, Senegal, Congo, Uganda and Egypt would make up the delegation along with Ramaphosa, he said on the sidelines of a visit by his Singaporean counterpart, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, on an Official Visit at Tuynhuys, Cape Town on Tuesday.
He said Putin and Zelenskyy gave him the go-ahead to “commence the preparations,” He said.
Four of those six African countries — South Africa, Congo, Senegal and Uganda — abstained from a U.N. vote last year on condemning Russia’s invasion. Zambia and Egypt voted in favor of the motion.
Ramaphosa did not give a time frame or outline any parameters for the possible peace talks. Zelenskyy has said he would not consider a peace deal to end the 15-month war until Russian forces withdraw completely from Ukrainian territory.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres also was briefed on the African delegation’s planned meetings and “welcomed the initiative,” Ramaphosa said.
The announcement of the African-led peace effort came as Russia launched a heavy air attack on Kyiv.
Meanwhile South Africa and Singapore have concluded “very productive” deliberations aimed at strengthening the longstanding partnership between the two countries and exploring new areas of bilateral economic cooperation.
Ramaphosa said that it was a pleasure to discuss areas of mutual interest and explore ways to strengthen bilateral relations, cooperation and partnership.
“Prime Minister Lee and I have just concluded productive discussions during his first Official Visit to South Africa … I would like to thank Prime Minister Lee for very productive deliberations and for his commitment to building stronger ties between our countries,” he said.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Africa and the Republic of Singapore as partners who work together closely in multinational fora.
South Africa’s economic relations with Singapore are focused on trade, investment, tourism promotion, and skills transfer.
The President said he believed there is significant potential to further develop the two countries economic partnership.
“This is evident in the business delegation that accompanied Prime Minister Lee, comprising representatives of a number of sectors, including ports, logistics, healthcare and biomedical, food manufacturing and engineering.
“Our two countries share a common interest in promoting economic growth, social development and prosperity for our citizens. It is in this spirit that we have worked together to strengthen our ties,” he said.
During the official talks, Ramaphosa and his counterpart agreed to deepen the two countries’ cooperation on science and innovation.
He said the visit provided South Africa and Singapore an opportunity to discuss areas of cooperation that are firmly focused on the future.
This includes cooperation in the fields of digitalisation, communications and technology, water and sanitation, and skills development, among others.
The President said the visit was also an opportunity to express appreciation to the Government of Singapore for their support over the years in training South African civil servants.
Among other issues, the two Heads of State discussed South Africa’s application to become a Sectoral Dialogue Partner with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.
“The global role of the ASEAN region has been growing over the last five decades creating the sixth largest market in the world.
“Further deepening the cooperation between South Africa and ASEAN would open up opportunities in various fields, such trade, infrastructure development, technology transfer, education, science, innovation and tourism,” the President said.
The President added that the visit further provided an opportunity to discuss regional and international issues of common interest and concern.