Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has been honoured with the Freedom of the City of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, while on a state visit to that country.
Zuma, who is on a two-day state visit, was honoured by his counterpart Armando Guebuza on Tuesday.
In his acceptance speech, the President said the award represented the friendships and togetherness that the two countries shared.
Mozambique has always shared strong relations with South Africa as it was a base for hundreds of ANC members during the struggle against apartheid.
"We share a rich history, culture, language and geography. We share a friendship and solidarity that has survived many trials and tribulations. We share a bright future in which we are determined to continue working together for the betterment of the peoples of our two countries," said Zuma, who also paid tribute to the acacia trees that line the streets of Mozambique's capital.
"It is this tree of Maputo that provided shade and shelter to many of liberation fighters who sought refuge from its bosoms. Its fruits and roots served as food for many hungry stomachs in quest for survival during the 'hey days' of apartheid," said Zuma.
Earlier, Zuma and Guebuza were locked in talks aimed at concretising bilateral cooperation in key priority areas such as trade and investment and energy as well as the various political situations on the continent.
Although the two countries have signed over 60 bilateral agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) covering a wide range of sectors, they agreed that a lot more was still needed to be done.
Briefing the media after the talks, International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said Zuma and Guebuza had agreed that they would use a business forum - scheduled to take place later today - to increase economic cooperation.
South Africa has emerged in recent years as the main trading partner for Mozambique and its main source of foreign direct investment.
The neighbouring countries also signed several agreements of cooperation and MoUs, including a MoU on communications and an agreement on maritime security co-operation, along with Tanzania. Other agreements on forestry-based industries, arts and culture co-operation and the co-ordination of frequency bands were also signed.
Nkoana-Mashabane said an agreement confirming the establishment of a bi-national commission had been signed during the visit.
"This mechanism will essentially broaden the areas of focus as opposed to the current Heads of State Economic Bilateral (HOSEB) which only focused on economic cooperation. With the signing of this agreement, we have taken our structured bilateral cooperation to a higher level," said Nkoana-Mashabane.
According to the minister, the President Zuma and Guebuza also vowed to increase efforts by their ministries to deal with cross-border crime, maritime piracy, poaching and human trafficking.
On the political situation in the continent, the leaders urged political leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo to keep peace.
"The two Presidents have congratulated the declared winner of the presidential election, HE President Joseph Kabila Kabanga. At the same time, the Presidents have urged political leaders in that country to act responsibly and refrain from making statements that would lead to violence," Nkoana-Mashabane said.
The situation is tense in the DRC following the announcement by the electoral commission that Kabila had received 49 percent of the votes, while opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi got 32 percent.
But media reports suggest that Tshisekedi and his supporters have rejected the vote results.
