President Hage Geingob will today set sail on a nine-day working visit to three nations: Angola, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari disclosed this yesterday at State House.
Hengari said Geingob would attend the swearing-in ceremony of Angola’s president-elect João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço for a second term on schedule for tomorrow as well as lay a wreath at the graveside of Angola’s former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
“President Geingob will have a very busy global agenda. President Geingob could not attend the funeral of a very important figure, Eduardo dos Santos, a man who played a significant role in the independence struggle in southern Africa and Namibia, in particular,” Hengari said.
Before travelling to New York for the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Hengari said Geingob will make a stopover in London to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
The UK’s longest-serving monarch died at Balmoral, Scotland, last week, aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.
The Queen’s state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday, 19 September, Buckingham Palace has announced.
Namibia is one of 56 members of the Commonwealth.
Elizabeth II became Head of the Commonwealth on her accession in 1952, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire.
Hengari indicated that Geingob was attending the funeral while en route to the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for 13 to 27 September 2022, in New York, United States of America.
The 77th UNGA will see heads of state and government from 193 member states discuss some of the world’s most pressing issues and push for progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and they will exchange statements in person in the General Assembly Hall, on the theme ‘A Watershed Moment: Transformative Solutions to Interlocking Challenges’.
Furthermore, Hengari said Geingob will attend a number of important meetings, including the Transforming Education Summit.
He stated that Geingob will make a statement on 21 September to provide perspectives on where Namibia stands on some of the most pressing issues.
“Namibia is emerging as an essential clean energy superpower, and the president will speak about it,” Hengari said.