South Africa and Namibia’s third session of the Bi-National Commission of senior officials kicked off in Windhoek yesterday and is expected to conclude tomorrow.
The meeting is expected to review cooperation in a wide range of areas including diplomatic, legal, economic, and social, defence and security. The senior officials meeting is expected to prepare the ground for the ministerial and presidential segments.
Opening the meeting, Penda Naanda, executive director in the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said during the meeting, there will be consideration on a large number of issues of mutual interest and of concern.
“I want us to make sure that our discussions are focused, action-oriented with measurable goals of making positive changes in the lives of our people while deepening and broadening our bilateral cooperation programme,” urged Naanda.
The last meeting took place in 2016 while the third was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said collaboration between the two countries is indeed a demonstration of the spirit of solidarity, friendship and African-born. He noted the bilateral level of the two countries is inextricably linked and uniquely symbiotic.
“South Africa has the highest number of companies doing business in Namibia. Bilaterally again, the countries have signed over 90 bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding, covering a wide range of sectors. This is the highest number that Namibia has sided with any bilateral partner,” stated the executive director.
Naanda further touched on the African Continental Free Trade Area, which started in January 2021, saying it is an instrument that can be used to intensify trade and investment collaborations between Namibia and South Africa.
Furthermore, Tselane Mokuena, acting deputy director general of the Africa branch of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said there is a need to leverage approximate positions and improve trade and investment partnership between the two countries.
She added Namibia is among South Africa’s top five trading partners on the continent, and the potential to surpass expectations is irreversible.
“We have mutual challenges which we will need to resolve through these three days to ensure as neighbours that we are able to work with one another and address some of those challenges in our cluster meetings. We should hold each other accountable. We should be able to have frank discussions during these three days and are really in our attempt to ensure that we address issues of poverty, unemployment and inequality, which affect and afflict both our peoples,” said Mokuena.
She stated that more can still be done economically by both countries, believing that the senior officials meeting provides an opportunity to examine the scope of bilateral relations and to set the scene for new areas of cooperation based on mutual interest and benefit.