South Africa on Thursday apologized for deporting 125 Nigerians accused of entering the country with fake yellow-fever vaccination certificates, capping a diplomatic spat that exposed strained ties between two continental powers.
Diplomats from both countries portrayed the settlement of the row as a step toward improving relations between two economic rivals that have repeatedly butted heads, as they jockey for political influence in Africa.
At a news conference in Pretoria Thursday, South Africa’s deputy foreign minister and officials from Nigeria’s embassy in South Africa pledged to re-establish a bilateral diplomatic commission and to exchange information on vaccinations more freely.
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