South African foreign minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane met her Nigerian counterpart Geoffrey Onyeama in Pretoria in a bid to diffuse soaring tensions over a recent string of attacks on migrants living in the rainbow nation.
"The early warning centre would allow us keep each other abreast of issues and help prevent violence," Nkoana-Mashabane said.
There were several incidents last month of South African locals attacking migrants from Africa and elsewhere and their businesses in both the administrative capital Pretoria and the commercial capital Johannesburg.
More than 20 shops were targeted in Atteridgeville, outside Pretoria, while residents in Rosettenville, south of Johannesburg, attacked at least 12 houses.
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The new violence-busting forum will meet every three months and will be made up of representatives from both countries and include immigration officials, business associations and civil society groups.
Nkoana-Mashabane said it was untrue that "the attacks on foreign nationals were targeted at the Nigerians", adding that citizens of other countries were also affected.
Onyeama said he had received assurances that Nigerians in South Africa would be able to live in peace and called for an end to "mass attacks".
Onyeama added that groups in Nigeria calling for the retaliatory expulsion of South African residents and businesses "do not speak on behalf of government".
Attacks against foreigners and foreign-run businesses have erupted regularly in recent years in South Africa, fuelled by the country's high unemployment and poverty levels.
In response to the violence, about 100 demonstrators gathered on February 23 outside the offices of two South African companies in the Nigerian capital Abuja - telecoms giant MTN and satellite TV provider DSTV - to protest the upsurge in attacks.
South African authorities have declined to confirm the figure which may have been the result of other criminal activity, not just anti-immigrant violence.