By Kuvee Kangueehi Windhoek Swapo Party parliamentarian, Peya Mushelenga says Namibia’s foreign missions are effective, as many of them are responsive to national priorities. Mushelenga said there is an endless list of remarkable achievements in areas of bilateral relations between Namibia and other countries, and this can be attributed to the effectiveness of the diplomats both in the missions and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Swapo backbencher made the remarks when he resumed the debate on the current performance of Namibia’s foreign missions, their overall effectiveness and the examination of their strategic placement around the globe in parliament last week. The youthful parliamentarian, who served as a Desk Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said foreign policy is not a new concept for the Swapo Party, as the party as a liberation movement was recognized by both the United Nations and the African Union and had a fully-fledged department of foreign affairs with diplomatic missions all over the world. He noted that Namibia’s independence came at a time which marked a turning point in world politics, namely the end of the Cold War. “Namibia, after independence, established diplomatic ties with a number of countries, both former allies and adversaries.” Mushelenga also disputed earlier claims by fellow parliamentarian, McHenry Venaani, who was the mover of the motion that Namibia failed on the south-to-south policy because the country has no printed foreign policy on China, India and Brazil. He said Namibia’s diplomatic relations with Brazil were established soon after independence, and since 1992 a number of cooperation agreements have been signed between the two countries in the fields of agriculture, education, mining, science and technology, culture, health, sports and the navy. “In the field of trade, the annual trade volume between the two countries is over N$10 million and this is expected to increase in the coming years, since business persons from Brazil are keen to trade with Namibia in areas of tourism, general trading, hygienic products, project financing, reinsurance and information technology.” He added that Namibia’s cooperation with China is well known and the two countries have signed a number of cooperation agreements in economic and technical fields and in the areas of trade, health, education, local government and railway transport. “Bilateral exchanges between the two countries also include reciprocal visits by delegations from the Chinese legislature and members of this august house.” Contributing to the debate, Swapo MP Elias Kaiyamo said Namibia has contributed a lot to bring about peace and stability in different parts of the world. “Namibia has contributed to UN Peacekeeping Missions in Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Liberia.” Kaiyamo said Namibian troops are currently serving in Liberia and have been instrumental in bringing about democratic order in that country. “Our involvement in the DRC has further led to the people of that country being able to again cast their vote in a truly democratic fashion.” Kaiyamo dismissed claims by Venaani that Namibia only voices its concern about the situation in Darfur when they address the UN General Assembly. “We have an Ambassador accredited to Ethiopia and the AU, and government has on many occasions been actively voicing its concern, through the Embassy in Ethiopia” he stated.