JOHANNESBURG, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Nigeria's President
Muhammadu Buhari will visit South Africa next month to reinforce
the bonds between the two countries after a wave of deadly riots
and xenophobic attacks, the South African presidency said on
Saturday.
South Africa's MTN Group MTNJ.J and supermarket chain
Shoprite SHPJ.J have closed all stores and service centres in
Nigeria after their premises were attacked.
Those attacks followed days of riots in South Africa that
mainly targeted foreign-owned, including Nigerian,
businesses. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday at
least 10 people had been killed, two of them foreign nationals,
in violence that began in Pretoria and spread to nearby
Johannesburg. Buhari will make a state visit to South Africa in October to
help develop responses to the challenges in both countries after
Ramaphosa held discussions with Nigeria's special envoy, the
presidency said in a statement.
"The special envoy conveyed President Buhari's concern at
recent events in South Africa, in the context of the strong and
cordial relations that characterise the interaction between the
two countries," the presidency said.
It said Buhari's government planned to act against the
targeting of South African assets in Nigeria and reaffirmed
relations with South Africa.
The violence in South Africa has stoked concerns about
relations between Africa's two biggest economies. Nigeria said
on Thursday it would recall its top diplomat to Pretoria.