Staff Reporter
Windhoek-As part of its training assistance in diverse professional spheres from which hundreds of Namibians have benefitted the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China has granted a full sponsorship to 25 Namibians from various ministries to travel to Beijing for a two-week training course on efficiency.
Liu Huabo the economic and commercial counsellor at the Chinese embassy on Friday hosted a sumptuous banquet at his office in Windhoek for the Namibian delegation, led by Mary Hangula from the National Planning Commission (NPC), that on Sunday flew to Beijing, China.
During the pre-trip briefing of the delegation whose tickets, accommodation and daily allowances are fully catered for by China, Liu expounded on the thriving bilateral trade and political ties between the two countries, saying Namibia exported copper, uranium and marble stone worth US$297 million and it imported from China ICT products, furniture and textiles worth US$272 million.
China also imported seafood and agricultural and other products from Namibia
China, stated Liu, has through the south-south cooperation invested heavily in the Namibian agricultural sector where it seconded 15 agriculture experts covering the period 2015 to 2017, and it assisted Namibia with drought relief in the form of a shipment of rice weighing 6,600 tons during the period 2016 to 2018, it sank 60 boreholes and gave aid to the Hardap Aquaculture Centre, stated the commercial counsellor.
China also assisted Namibia with emergency relief aid to flood victims in areas that were deluged by seasonal floods.
In the fields of human resources development from 2010 to last year, over 1,200 Namibians were sponsored by the Chinese government to get training in various fields of cooperation.
In the area of education, it provided material assistance to numerous rural schools in Omuthiya, Tsumkwe, Talismanus, and it built and equipped a modern school in Otjomuise. Some of the schools were also assisted with food and equipment worth millions of dollars.
The University of Namibia (Unam) Lab and the Military Academy in Okahandja were among the countless Namibian government institutions that received Chinese assistance, he said.
The 25 Namibians to benefit from the south-south cooperation will receive training that will focus on boosting efficiency in the public sector, reducing unemployment, and on how to utilise and manage donor assistance, according to Hangula the team leader from the NPC.
Namibia and China enjoy historical bilateral relations that have resulted in an increase in trade between the two countries and high-level visits and exchange programmes, among others.