WINDHOEK – Namibia and Congo are turning a new page in their 24-year political relationship, to focus on economic cooperation.
While Congolese nationals are sipping on cold Windhoek Lager in Brazzaville, which Namibia Breweries Limited exports to Congo, the two countries are jointly working on opening the Trade and Industrial Centre in the port city of Pointe Noire.
The government of Congo has donated the 5 hectares land for the centre while Namibia is bringing expertise to the table. The centre will process and add value to Congolese goods, such as timber and fruit, before exporting to Namibia. It will also house Namibian goods sold to Congo, ranging from meat to fish and salt.
“The deed of the land was officially handed over to the Namibian Government during the Congo Namibia Joint Commission last year. I have no doubt that our Namibian partners will soon start with the construction phase,” said Ambassador of the Republic of Congo to Namibia, Marie Therese Avemeka.
“If I have to sum up our cooperation, for the past 24 years we have put the emphasis on our political relationship. It is now time that we turn our attention to the economy. I believe that with Namibia opening an Embassy in Brazzaville hopefully before the end of the year, the future can only be bright,” she said in an exclusive interview this week to mark Congo’s celebration of its 54th independence anniversary today, 15 August.
Ties between Congo and Namibia date back to the days of the Namibian liberation struggle when Congo offered assistance with the fight to end apartheid.
One of the most significant contributions was the famous Loudima School of Swapo, an education institute built in 1985 and opened in 1986 as the Technical and Vocational Secondary School of Namibia to train the future cadres of the free Namibia. The institute closed after Namibia gained independence in 1990.
The school is about to reopen as a joint venture between our two nations, a bilingual institute meant to train youth. Ambassador Avemeka says the reopening of the institute is currently “our main project,” with the two countries sharing the N$279 million bill (US$26 million).
Students at the college, expected to open in October this year, would be taught by Namibian and Congolese teachers in English and French.
The two countries are also working on a third priority, which is transport.
“It would be very hard for our students and our business people to move around or our goods to reach the intended market without the adequate means of transportation. Fortunately, we have signed maritime and air service agreements that are very progressive. Our air service agreement puts Air Namibia at par with the Congolese airline as we have opened our sky in accordance with the 5th Freedom of the Yamoussoukro Declaration,” she said.
There are still a few technical details that have to be sorted out before implementation.
Officials from the transport ministry are yet to visit Brazzaville for a technical evaluation of Congo’s airport installation, and the two countries are in the process of twinning their major ports.
While Ambassador Avemeka is not able to give trade figures, she does say the trade volumes are very low. “We want to boost them by all means [as] the exchanges are not at the level where they should be,” she said.
The two countries are also engaged in cultural exchanges with Namibian artists attending the Pan-African Music Festival in Brazzaville in 2011 and 2013.
“Hopefully, we will have another delegation for the next edition in 2015. We also played and won against the Brave Warriors very recently for the AFCON qualifying games.
“We also want to start with exchanges of youth who will be given the opportunity to interact and tap from their different experiences. I know this is something very dear to Minister [of youth] Jerry Ekandjo,” said Ambassador Avemeka.
By Desie Heita