By Mbatjiua Ngavirue WINDHOEK The first day of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s four-day State visit to Namibia culminated in a sumptuous State Banquet held at one of Windhoek’s top hotels. Members of President Mugabe’s delegation, a large contingent of distinguished local guests and members of the diplomatic corps attended the banquet. President Hifikepunye Pohamba, his guest of honour President Mugabe, the two first ladies Penehupifo Pohamba and Grace Mugabe, graced the high table. Prime Minister Nahas Angula, Mrs Tangeni Angula and Speaker of the National Assembly Theo-Ben Gurirab also joined the guests of honour. The elaborate preparations for the State visit and the banquet highlight the special relationship that seems to exist between Namibia and Zimbabwe. Speaking at the occasion, President Pohamba said Mugabe’s visit signified the excellent bilateral and diplomatic relations that exist between the two countries. He gave the assurance that the Namibian people would never forget the sacrifices and support the Zimbabwean people gave to Namibia during its struggle for national libe-ration and independence. Today, Namibia and Zimbabwe are working closely together to overcome the common development challenges facing the two countries. Pohamba said that in government-to-government cooperation there had been progress in the areas of education, health, human resources development, agriculture, energy, sports and culture. Many Namibian teachers have completed their training at Zimbabwean institutions of higher learning. They had upgraded their teaching skills in subjects such as mathematics, science, agriculture and English language teaching. He was also pleased to see ongoing efforts to strengthen cooperation in the areas of agriculture and food production with the secondment of Zimbabwean experts to Namibia. A Namibian offer to provide Zimbabwe with dry-port facilities at Walvis Bay – similar to that provided to Botswana – seems to be a significant new development. “My government stands ready to facilitate access to a [dry-port] facility for Zimbabwe at the Walvis Bay harbour. The facility can serve as a storage depot for imports and exports to and from Zimbabwe,” Pohamba announced. President Mugabe echoed many of the sentiments expressed by Pohamba. “Our presence here bears further testimony to the ever-growing friendship and revolutionary ties which have withstood the test of time and bind our two peoples and countries together,” he warmly greeted the guests. President Pohamba’s first-ever state visit outside the country after his inauguration as president of Namibia was to Zimbabwe in 2005. Mugabe said that during that visit the two countries renewed their commitment to further consolidate relations through the implementation of agreed areas of cooperation. “I am happy to note that our message was taken seriously as the volume of trade between our two countries has increased significantly over the past year though there is still room for further improvement,” he noted. To him it was a moment of great joy to witness the graduation of 84 Namibian student teachers at Belvedere Technical Teacher’s College in Zimbabwe in August last year. Mugabe spoke at length about a subject close to his heart, the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme in Zimbabwe. “The government and people of Zimbabwe will forever be grateful to all-weather friends like Namibia and other countries in the region for their unwavering support as we face vilification from our detractors over the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme,” he said. Preceding the banquet, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marco Hausiku and his Zimbabwean counterpart Simbarashe Mumbengegwi signed the agreed minutes of a meeting of the Namibia-Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation held yesterday. The full details of new agreements will only become known on Friday when a final communiquÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚© is issued at the end of the State visit.