WINDHOEK – The Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation will commence a project of profiling all 31 Namibian diplomatic missions in New Era newspaper, Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah confirmed yesterday.
The series would ensure that the work of the country’s foreign missions is tracked and publicly known, in line with government’s renewed push for enhanced information dissemination and transparency. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who doubles as the country’s deputy prime minister, officially launched the series yesterday.
Government conducts its international relations through, amongst others, its diplomatic missions abroad – which are embassies or high commissions, depending on the status of the receiving states.
“You may recall that, during my presentation of the budget speech for the 2019-2020 financial year, I highlighted among others that Namibian diplomatic missions will be profiled in the print media, with the aim of informing and educating the public about the work carried out by Namibian missions, and how the mission could be of help to our citizens,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
She pointed out that this project is an initiative between the ministry and New Era.
In order to facilitate maximum reach, she said the mission profiles will also be loaded onto the ministry’s website.
According to her, the deliberate intention of the profiling exercise in the media is to inform and educate the public about the work carried out by Namibian missions, and how the missions could be of help to the citizens – be they businesspeople, students or tourists.
In addition, she said the project will also familiarise the Namibian citizenry with the activities of the Namibian diplomatic missions abroad, in order for them to appreciate the level of Namibia’s bilateral and multilateral engagements with the international community.
“Through this exercise, the general public will gain knowledge on how to tap into the opportunities available through the country’s missions around the world, in terms of business ventures, tourism, education and other socio-economic engagements that Namibian citizens may be interested in, and how the country’s diplomatic missions can facilitate such,” she maintained.
Furthermore, she stated that by learning more about their country’s diplomatic missions, it allows ordinary Namibians to master basic skills such as how to acquire travel visas, get to know crucial information on various business markets around the world, study requirements as well as tourism information.