Ghana and Nigeria will not succeed in using migration to isolate South Africa diplomatically, The Presidency says while welcoming their proposal for an African Union debate on the issue.

Responding to a joint move by Ghana and Nigeria, presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told the Mail \& Guardian that Pretoria would resist attempts to use the issue to isolate South Africa.

"We have welcomed the opportunity to place the issue of migration on the AU agenda, where we can discuss both the pull and push factors of migration," Magwenya said.

"More importantly, we can also engage on every country's responsibility to contribute to the development of Africa in order to avoid a situation where one country has to carry the burden of the entire continent. We are ready for that discussion at the AU."

His comments follow a meeting between Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Nigerian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sola Enikanolaiye on the sidelines of the Economic Community of West African States mid-year summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the two countries agreed to work together to address what they described as Afrophobic protests in South Africa and to seek support for the issue to be placed on the agenda of an upcoming African Union summit.

If adopted by AU member states, the proposal would elevate the dispute from bilateral diplomacy to a formal discussion among African leaders.

The joint statement also called for closer continental cooperation, including early-warning mechanisms and preventive diplomacy to address attacks on African migrants.

While Ghana first called for an AU debate earlier this year, Sunday's joint declaration brings Nigeria into the initiative and signals a more coordinated diplomatic approach.

Magwenya rejected suggestions that the initiative would damage South Africa's standing on the continent.

"What Ghana and Nigeria will not succeed in doing is to use the challenge of illegal migration as an instrument to isolate South Africa from the rest of the continent," he said.

"That campaign will fail as it is faltering even now."

The diplomatic tension has intensified in recent weeks amid anti-illegal migration demonstrations in parts of South Africa, criticism from several African governments and an increasingly public war of words over migration and Afrophobia.

Last week the Presidency accused Ghana, and to a lesser extent Nigeria, of driving a sustained campaign to portray South Africa as increasingly isolated in Africa. Magwenya said the Department of International Relations and Cooperation had raised South Africa's concerns with Ghana's High Commissioner.

The dispute reflects different narratives.

Ghana and Nigeria have characterised recent incidents in South Africa as Afrophobic and argue that they require a coordinated continental response. Pretoria, however, says the central issue is illegal migration and maintains that enforcing immigration laws should not be equated with hostility towards African nationals.

The South African government has repeatedly condemned vigilantism and attacks on migrants while insisting that undocumented migration places pressure on public services and cannot be ignored.

Despite the increasingly public disagreement, Magwenya said President Cyril Ramaphosa remained committed to engaging both countries.

"The president has committed himself to engaging on these matters in an open and constructive manner and that includes engaging with Ghana and Nigeria as we still maintain diplomatic relations with both countries, notwithstanding their posture on the matter."