Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber is on a mission to strengthen warm ties with the Irish after South Africa lost visa-free entry to the EU country recently.
Schreiber met Irish ambassador to South Africa Austin Gormley on Tuesday, a month after Ireland introduced stricter travel rules for South Africans. T he Irish government announced South Africa and Botswana nationals would need visas to travel to Ireland. The move was part of Ireland's efforts to align its immigration policies more closely with those of the UK.
It was good to meet ambassador Gormley to reaffirm the warm ties between our two countries, Schreiber said.
Home affairs is committed to modernising our systems and we look forward to working with Ireland to increase tourism and investment to create jobs.
Gormley responded positively: It was my great pleasure, minister, and I look forward to working with you and colleagues to reinforce Irish-South African friendship and partnership.
