BEIJING – President Nangolo Mbumba and China’s Xi Jinping have agreed to deepen the two countries’ cooperation in several areas.
The agreement culminated in the Chinese government agreeing to foot the bill for the construction of houses for police officers through a N$1 billion grant.
Xi’s government also committed N$500 million for future projects and N$50 million to assist the country’s efforts in mitigating drought.
The grants are part of bigger grants and credits of more than US$50 billion in financing for Africa over the next three years, with Xi promising to deepen cooperation in infrastructure and trade with the continent.
Xi stated this as he addressed more than 50 African leaders and representatives at the ninth Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, China.
Presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari noted that the bilateral talks signify big wins for Namibia.
“I must also mention the area of business. President Mbumba held several meetings with Chinese business leaders, some whom are already investing in Namibia and others still to invest in the country. The President at all times emphasised the need for value addition two spur economic growth and create jobs,” said Hengari in an interview with NBC.
Agriculture
As state members addressed the gathering, highlighting various projects, Mbumba indicated that agriculture is a vital foreign currency earner and Namibia is a catalyst due to the export of beef to China, as well as the EU and US markets.
He expressed hope that the country will work tirelessly to strengthen cooperation in that sector, as there are plans in the pipeline to modernise the process.
“Namibia is arriving at ensuring food self-sufficiency for its people in the crops sub-sector, and in order to support and encourage local production, the government plans to establish agro-processing centres all over Namibia,” said Mbumba at the high-level meeting on industrialisation and agricultural modernisation at the ninth FOCAC summit.
He added that for these centres to be a success, there is a need to acquire affordable small-scale technologies, equipment, and tools.
“Agriculture is the biggest employer in many African countries. Therefore, investments in modern equipment, tools, and technology are essential to boost productivity and to secure livelihoods,” he added.
As far as agriculture is concerned, through FOCAC, Namibia will be assisted by Chinese counterparts in drilling boreholes.
“One of the proposed projects under discussion between Namibia and China to benefit under the bilateral cooperation includes the drilling of boreholes in all 14 regions of Namibia to address the water scarcity caused by the ongoing drought,” said the Director General of the National Planning Commission, Obeth Kandjoze.
Mbumba added that the sector remains a top priority in Africa and is necessary for food security and nutrition, for the well-being and development of the people.
“For accelerated industrialisation, we need enhanced agricultural production and value addition and efficient environmental responsiveness through green development,” said Mbumba.
The President said the establishment of agroprocessing centres will be targeted towards rural areas, for youth, cooperatives and farmers in general, to add value to agricultural produce, develop new products, contribute to economic activities in the remote areas, and stimulate economic growth.
With assistance from China through FOCAC, Mbumba believes technical support and capacity building for the agronomic industry, in terms of skills development, would go a long way in enhancing food security and sustainability.
Business
He also encouraged Chinese companies to focus on win-win partnerships and in the pursuance of mutually beneficial investments, which contribute to Namibia’s developmental agenda.
Chinese ambassador to Namibia, Zhao Weiping, on the margins of the forum talked of enthusiastic support for deepening China-Namibia economic cooperation.
“We are enthusiastic because we believe that our two economies are highly complementary, China-Namibia economic cooperation is mutually beneficial, and the potential of this cooperation is enormous,” he said.
Zhao indicated that China-Namibia bilateral trade reached US$1.3 billion last year, and China now accounts for about 30% of the total foreign direct investment in Namibia.
-psiririka@nepc.com.na
(Agriculture)
Caption: