China-Namibia relations flourish
• More official visits planned
The Chinese government has approved an approximately N$26 million grant – subject to exchange fluctuations – for emergency food aid to Namibia.
The Chinese embassy in Namibia regards the successful bilateral meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Hage Geingob in August, which took place on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, as the most significant highlight of China-Namibia relations this year.
It was their first physical meeting between the two leaders in five years, since their last meeting in 2018 in Beijing, and the two presidents reached an important consensus on pushing forward the China-Namibia comprehensive strategic partnership.
Working together more than ever
These are the sentiments of Chinese ambassador to Namibia, Zhao Weiping. Speaking during a media briefing last week, he emphasised President Xi’s announcement of China’s 'Initiative on Supporting Africa’s Industrialisation', 'China’s Plan for Supporting Africa’s Agricultural Modernisation', and the 'China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development'.
“Our two presidents have also maintained close contact with each other by exchanging letters. The close engagement between them has provided strategic guidance for the development of China-Namibia relations. The second important development of bilateral relations this year is the picking up of the exchanges of official visits between our two countries, which almost completely stopped in the three years of the pandemic," he said.
“The third achievement of the bilateral relations is the further strengthening of bilateral trade and economic cooperation. According to the statistics by the Chinese side, from January to September, China-Namibia bilateral trade volume reached US$1 billion, an increase of 29% over the same period of last year."
There to help
The ambassador also stated that, although no major investment projects were announced this year, an increasing number of Chinese companies are showing their interest in investment opportunities in Namibia and that, according to local Chinese travel agencies, Namibia is expected to receive about 8 000 Chinese tourists this year, which is almost half of the number in peak times before the pandemic.
“Almost every day, I am thinking about what I can do as ambassador to make a contribution to the further development of our bilateral relations. Based on my understanding of our two countries and the nature of our bilateral relations, I have set cooperation in the areas of agriculture, education infrastructure and talent development as the key priorities of my work in the time ahead.
He added: "Agriculture is critically important for Namibia, either for ensuring food security or solving the unemployment problem. I am very sensitive to all the issues related to agricultural cooperation between our two countries. Recently, when I learned from a newspaper that Namibia is experiencing a big shortage of food, I immediately reported it to my government. I am very happy that the Chinese government has announced to provide a grant of 10 million Chinese yuan (approximately N$26 million, subject to exchange fluctuations) for emergency food aid to Namibia. Currently, the embassy is discussing with the Namibian government the implementation of the aid."
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It was their first physical meeting between the two leaders in five years, since their last meeting in 2018 in Beijing, and the two presidents reached an important consensus on pushing forward the China-Namibia comprehensive strategic partnership.
Working together more than ever
These are the sentiments of Chinese ambassador to Namibia, Zhao Weiping. Speaking during a media briefing last week, he emphasised President Xi’s announcement of China’s 'Initiative on Supporting Africa’s Industrialisation', 'China’s Plan for Supporting Africa’s Agricultural Modernisation', and the 'China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development'.
“Our two presidents have also maintained close contact with each other by exchanging letters. The close engagement between them has provided strategic guidance for the development of China-Namibia relations. The second important development of bilateral relations this year is the picking up of the exchanges of official visits between our two countries, which almost completely stopped in the three years of the pandemic," he said.
“The third achievement of the bilateral relations is the further strengthening of bilateral trade and economic cooperation. According to the statistics by the Chinese side, from January to September, China-Namibia bilateral trade volume reached US$1 billion, an increase of 29% over the same period of last year."
There to help
The ambassador also stated that, although no major investment projects were announced this year, an increasing number of Chinese companies are showing their interest in investment opportunities in Namibia and that, according to local Chinese travel agencies, Namibia is expected to receive about 8 000 Chinese tourists this year, which is almost half of the number in peak times before the pandemic.
“Almost every day, I am thinking about what I can do as ambassador to make a contribution to the further development of our bilateral relations. Based on my understanding of our two countries and the nature of our bilateral relations, I have set cooperation in the areas of agriculture, education infrastructure and talent development as the key priorities of my work in the time ahead.
He added: "Agriculture is critically important for Namibia, either for ensuring food security or solving the unemployment problem. I am very sensitive to all the issues related to agricultural cooperation between our two countries. Recently, when I learned from a newspaper that Namibia is experiencing a big shortage of food, I immediately reported it to my government. I am very happy that the Chinese government has announced to provide a grant of 10 million Chinese yuan (approximately N$26 million, subject to exchange fluctuations) for emergency food aid to Namibia. Currently, the embassy is discussing with the Namibian government the implementation of the aid."
[email protected]
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