Kenya Airways (KQ) and South African Airways are collaborating to form a pan-African airline, Kenyan Wall Street Exchange reported.

Kenya’s President William Ruto and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa are discussing the plan at a high level.

“We have agreed that that agreement should be progressed forward as it presents an opportunity for South Africa and Kenya to work together to build a pan-African airline,” said Ruto.

“We are committed to ensuring that the agreement that was signed between our two airlines goes forward,” Ramaphosa said.

He said that there is a lot of work going on at the technical level, adding, “we look forward to making sure that the agreement that was signed eventually brings about a pan-African airline.”

In November last year, South African Airways and Kenya Airways signed a strategic partnership framework to discuss forming a pan-African airline by 2023.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com )