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President Cyril Ramaphosa received a courtesy call by President Edgar Chagwa Lungu of the Republic of Zambia today, Tuesday 13 March 2018.

President Ramaphosa, Chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) hosted President Lungu in Pretoria for a meeting that formed part of President Ramaphosa’s current round of consultations with leaders of SADC member states. President Ramaphosa recently visited Angola, Namibia and Botswana.

Zambia is the incoming Chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.

President Ramaphosa and President Lungu committed that South Africa and Zambia will continue to work together on the region’s common agenda relating to, among others, peace, security and economic integration.

Historic relations between South Africa and Zambia were concretised when the African National Congress (ANC) established its headquarters in Lusaka during our shared struggle for liberation. This led to the existing deep and solid bonds of friendship between the peoples of South Africa and Zambia.

Structured bilateral cooperation between South Africa and Zambia formerly took place under the framework of the Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) which was signed on 18 October 2005.

During the Second Session of the JCC held in Zambia from 9 to 11 October 2017, the two countries agreed to elevate the JCC to a Bi-National Commission (BNC) which would be chaired at the level of Heads of State.

South Africa is expected to host the inaugural session of the BNC in 2018.

Issued by the Presidency