George Sanzila
Speaker of the National Assembly Peter Katjavivi and newly accredited ambassador of Brazil to Namibia, Vivian Loss Sanmartin, all agree that more needs to be done to strengthen Namibia-Brazil bilateral relations.
The two met on Tuesday to exchange views on how the two countries can continue to work together to boost their relations.
Katjavivi singled out negligible trade volumes between the two countries, poverty reduction, gender-based violence (GBV) and youth empowerment as some of the issues Brazil and Namibia could focus on and learn from each other.
On the latter, the speaker noted the Namibian parliament has been able to initiate a children’s parliament, saying it has become a catalyst for participatory democracy among the youth.
“The children’s parliament is an initiative that is doing well. We have encouraged young people to engage in debates about issues concerning their welfare and to inculcate a culture of tolerance of diverse opinions. Some of the young MPs we have today came through this system,” boasted Katjavivi.
He also appealed for parliament-to-parliament collaboration in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Katjavivi further informed the ambassador that the Namibian parliament was involved in international diplomacy by being part of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Taskforce assigned to mediate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Katjavivi is designated as its Vice President. “We have had some successes, such as the exchange of prisoners and humanitarian assistance that is likely to reach Ukrainian citizens soon”, said Katjavivi.
On her part, Sanmartin pledged her country’s willingness to improve relations between the two countries, especially with the new government of president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, adding that the only notable cooperation that existed between the two countries was military cooperation.
She noted that even though Brazil has also been grappling with poverty and many other social issues, Namibia could draw lessons from a few of its successful social protection programmes.
The ambassador stated that as part of efforts aimed at diversifying relations between the two countries, programmes have already been initiated, such as on food security in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP) and cooperation with the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI), and Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG), aimed at boosting economic activities in the country.