President Nangolo Mbumba yesterday expressed Namibia’s appreciation for the Federal Government of Germany for convening the Hamburg Sustainability Conference.
Speaking from Germany, through presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari, Mbumba explained the significance of the event, calling Hamburg “a city with a long history of serving as a bridge between cultures and economies.”
Mbumba described the conference as a critical platform for advancing discussions on global issues, including the fight against climate change, promoting international peace, eradicating poverty and hunger, and harnessing digital technologies for the betterment of humanity.
President Mbumba is in Germany to attend the Hamburg Sustainability Conference from Monday to today.
The conference, which gathered governments, academics, civil society and business leaders, comes in the wake of the recent UN Summit of the Future and the adoption of the Pact for the Future.
Mbumba emphasised that these events have opened a “window to strengthen global agreements and institutions” to ensure the effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“I commend the Federal Government of the Republic of Germany for convening this inclusive dialogue in Hamburg, a city with a long history of serving as a bridge between cultures and economies,” he said.
According to Mbumba, the UN Summit of the Future and the adoption of the Pact for the Future provided the international community with a window to strengthen global agreements and institutions to ensure the effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The international system must be equipped to finance these goals through an innovative global financial architecture. Central to his message was the call for reform of the global financial architecture.
“We cannot talk about the renewal of international relations and implementation of the pact if we don’t reform the global financial architecture to respond better to the needs of the global south,” the President asserted.
His remarks painted the urgency for an international system capable of financing SDGs through innovative mechanisms, addressing the inequalities faced by developing nations.
He also underscored the importance of sustained collaboration. “We need platforms of this nature to dialogue and to entrench the path of hope and the momentum the Summit of the Future created for partnership and collective action.”
The conference, recognised for its inclusivity, provided a unique opportunity for cross-sector dialogue, with participants sharing strategies to address some of the most pressing global challenges.
President Mbumba is also scheduled to participate in high-level panel discussions alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with other notable figures such as World Bank president Ajay Banga and IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva.
In addition to attending the conference, Mbumba has been invited to Berlin for bilateral talks with the president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
These discussions are expected to further enhance Namibia-Germany relations, focusing on issues such as investment in green hydrogen, agribusiness, and logistics, aligning with Namibia’s broader development objectives.
The Hamburg Sustainability Conference, a joint initiative of the German Federal Government, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Michael Otto Foundation, and the City of Hamburg, is organised around three key themes: ‘Reshaping the International Financial Architecture, Unleashing Investment for SDGs and Leveraging Transformation’.
Following his engagements in Hamburg and Berlin, President Mbumba is expected to return to Namibia on 11 October 2024.