South Africa, UK sign bilateral agreements, agree to bolster trade and defence ties

UK foreign secretary David Lammy has signed bilateral agreements in Cape Town with his South African counterpart.

The talks he held with Ronald Lamola were aimed at bolstering the relationship between the two nations, which have agreed to bolster trade and defence ties.

During meetings, Lammy reiterated his stance on African representation at the UN, stating, ''the U.K. has had a longstanding position that Africa must be represented on the U.N. Security Council and I'm keen to better understand if the recent position is supported by other members of the Security Council, particularly Russia and China."

For his part, Ronald Lamola insisted that the UK is an important partner for South Africa.

In his opening remarks, Lamola said he wished to acknowledge what he called the '‘close bonds of friendship’' between the two countries and their people.

But he added there was room for improvement, pointing out that trade and investment between the nations has stagnated somewhat, in part, as a result of the pandemic.