diff --git a/ReactAndroid/build.gradle b/ReactAndroid/build.gradle
index 9ef5b784dc9..6cfc6a248c9 100644
--- a/ReactAndroid/build.gradle
+++ b/ReactAndroid/build.gradle
@@ -417,6 +417,7 @@ task installArchives {
 android {
     buildToolsVersion = "33.0.0"
     compileSdkVersion 33
+    namespace "com.facebook.react"
 
     // Used to override the NDK path/version on internal CI or by allowing
     // users to customize the NDK path/version from their root project (e.g. for M1 support)
diff --git a/ReactAndroid/hermes-engine/build.gradle b/ReactAndroid/hermes-engine/build.gradle
index f9f57f2c797..5bf2330276f 100644
--- a/ReactAndroid/hermes-engine/build.gradle
+++ b/ReactAndroid/hermes-engine/build.gradle
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ def reactNativeArchitectures() {
 android {
     compileSdkVersion 31
     buildToolsVersion = "31.0.0"
+    namespace "com.facebook.hermes"
 
     // Used to override the NDK path/version on internal CI or by allowing
     // users to customize the NDK path/version from their root project (e.g. for M1 support)
diff --git a/ReactAndroid/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml b/ReactAndroid/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index ec2751f1bac..00000000000
--- a/ReactAndroid/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" package="com.facebook.react">
-
-    <application />
-
-</manifest>