Lahja Nashuuta
Windhoek-Minister of Land Reform Utoni Nujoma has urged both Chinese and Namibian entrepreneurs to take advantage of the business opportunities being presented by China-Africa cooperation, in a win-win manner, in order to grow the country’s economy.
Nujoma was speaking at the Chinese New Year celebration held on Saturday night at the Windhoek Country Club Resort and Casino, where hundreds of Chinese nationals, Namibian government officials, other invited guests, and their families, were treated to a variety of cultural activities such as martial arts, traditional Chinese and local music and dance.
The Chinese New Year, known in modern China as the Spring Festival, celebrates the turn of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, which is based on exact astronomical observations of the sun’s longitude and the moon’s phases.
In his short statement, Nujoma reiterated the remarks that the President of the People’s Republic of China, President Xi Jinping, made at the last Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which was held in 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
While addressing FOCAC, President Xi announced that China would soon roll out major plans to boost cooperation with Africa in the coming three years that covers the areas of industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure, financial services, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction and public welfare, public health, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security.
Reemphasizing the Chinese president’s remarks, Nujoma maintained that this bilateral relationship would create lots of business opportunities.
“I would like to urge Chinese business entrepreneurs residing in Namibia, as well as our own entrepreneurs, to work together in a win-win cooperation. Let’s work together in order to develop our country. Namibia can benefit from the technological advances made by China. Let’s learn from their culture, discipline of hard work, and we can drive maximum benefit,” Nujoma said. Nujoma described the friendship between the two countries as “all weathered”.
“The friendship between Namibia and China has come a long way since before independence when China provided political, moral and material support to the Namibian people in their struggle for national independence, and after independence the friendship continues and was cemented with bilateral cooperation,” he said.
Nujoma concluded that Namibia supports the One China policy. According to information obtained from one of the Chinese officials in Namibia, the One China policy emphasises there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is part of China.Addressing the same get-together, Chairperson of the Chinese-Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry Lin Jindan affirmed China’s willingness to work together with Namibians to grow the country’s economy.
“In the past the chamber of commerce and industry has been trying its best to unite and assist Chinese businesses in Namibia to integrate their business into the Namibian society, as well as to solve problems. During the past year Chinese businesses in Namibia have recorded notable improvements on the business outcome and social expectations. Furthermore, efforts were made to protect business interests and together with the government of Namibia, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has managed to create a conducive commercial environment for our nationals to do business,” he said .
Lin therefore urged the Chinese business community to continue working hard in building the Namibian nation.