President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday explained that it was urgent that African countries cooperate to manufacture their own vaccines, and strengthen their own health systems so that these vaccines reach the people who need them most.

Ramaphosa was speaking during the official talks on the occasion of a State visit by Guinea-Bissau President His Excellency General Umaro Sissoco Embaló.

“We have the arduos task of rebuilding our societies, in which so many lives have been lost, and our national economies, which have suffered great damage. Africa’s recovery depends on more of our people getting vaccinated against Covid-19,” he said.

He explained that it was a cause for great concern that the global community had not sustained the principle of solidarity and cooperation when it came to equitable access to vaccines.

He said a renewed momentum must be given to the process of implementing the agreements that exist between South Africa and Guinea-Bissau, saying this should form part of the country’s efforts to implement the Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement.

“As South Africa and Guinea-Bissau there are multiple avenues of cooperation to increase bilateral trade between our two countries. As part of our contribution to enhancing intra-Africa trade, we should give preference to our State-owned companies and private businesses when bidding for signicant procurement contracts in each other’s countries, instead of sourcing these from outside of the continent,” Ramaphosa said.

He said the hope was that South Africa would be able to explore further opportunities for investment by South African companies in Guinea-Bissau in areas such as agriculture, mining, energy, manufacturing and infrastructure.