By Surihe Gaomas WINDHOEK The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lempy Lucas, has called upon Libyan business people to make use of the untapped opportunities to invest in the country’s vast tourism sector and other lucrative areas of bilateral development. “Our bilateral relations can be further strengthened through trade and investment in joint ventures in areas such as the oil industry, fishing and the processing of natural resources to the mutual benefit of both our countries and peoples,” said Lucas. She was speaking at the 37th Anniversary celebrations of the Great El-Fatah Revolution of Libya under the visionary leadership of Muammer Al Ghadaffi held in a local resort in Windhoek on Friday. Both Namibia and Libya share longstanding historical ties rooted in their common struggle for freeing the African continent from foreign colonial powers and dictatorships. Over the years, the objective was to continue expanding the existing good relations between the two countries. Namibia and the great Socialist Arab Libyan Jamahiriya attach great importance to its membership of the African Union (AU). “Our priority remains the strengthening of political unity and the promotion of socio-economic development of our peoples on the continent,” added Lucas. Speaking through an interpreter, the chargÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚© d’affaires of the People’s Bureau of the Great Libyan Jamahiriya, Ibrahim Ajbali, said that prominent leaders like Muammer Al Ghadaffi and Namibian Founding President Dr Sam Nujoma and many others on the continent worked hard for the political emancipation of Africa. In addition, instrumental bodies like the AU played a vital role in solving conflicts and restoring peace in many of the African countries as in Somalia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, as well as instilling order in others like Liberia, Togo and Chad. He said that both President Hifikepunye Pohamba and the Founding Father Dr Sam Nujoma “took charge of their destiny to free their homeland from the cruel apartheid regime.” “The excellent existing relations between the Great Jamahiriya and the Republic of Namibia since the liberation struggle of Swapo to free their homeland was done by duty and conviction for the justness and mobility of the Namibian cause,” (sic) explained Ajbali to an applauding crowd. With such a rich historical background, Namibian-Libyan relations have experienced major progress, through exchange visits of high-ranking officials to further strengthen the relationship between the two leaderships. Namibia’s First Lady, Penehupifo Pohamba, also visited Libya on the 7th anniversary of the African Union. Meetings were held between the various First Ladies of African countries to seek solutions to the numerous problems facing the African continent in combating poverty and HIV/Aids. Towards the end of the anniversary celebrations both Lucas and Ajbali proposed a toast to the good health and prosperity for the future leadership and ongoing bilateral relations between the two states. Close to 50 members of parliament, dignitaries and members of the diplomatic corps attended the Libyan National Day on Friday.