ST PETERSBURG – The relationship between Namibia and Russia is etched in blood.
To buttress those ties, vice president Nangolo Mbumba led a strong Namibian delegation to St. Petersburg, the Russian port city on the Baltic Sea, to attend the second Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Summit, which concluded on Friday.
The Namibian delegation comprised Cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, academics and company representatives, and was extremely active at the highest levels to attract investors to Namibia. Chief among the key takeaways from the well-attended indaba is the confirmation by Mbumba that negotiations are ongoing between Namibia and Russia on a reciprocal meat trade agreement.
“Agriculture is one of the key Namibian priorities. Towards this end, our country has developed policies geared for the improvement of local production in the agricultural sector to ensure food security. Namibia is looking forward to working with our partners, especially in the areas of capacity-building and technology transfer to improve agricultural production and agro-processing,” he said during a plenary session. The objective of the Russian summit was to support initiatives aimed at enhancing comprehensive and equitable collaboration between Russia and African countries. This includes all departments of society such as politics, security, economic ties, science and technology, as well as the cultural and humanitarian domains.
Mbumba added that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which was launched in 2021, is highly dependent on strategic partnerships which are not only limited to the continental level. Hence, Africa welcomes international partners such as Russia, which the VP described as “a friend to many African countries”.
He furthermore encouraged the Russian government to provide the necessary support to African Union (AU) member states in implementing the continental blueprint.
In St Petersburg, Mbumba also advocated and promoted Namibia’s new proposed engine of growth, namely green hydrogen.
“Namibia strives to become a key player in renewable energy in Africa and the world. However, in order to succeed, our country will require technical assistance and cooperation from international partners. Other sectors where our two countries could cooperate include investments in all sectors, such as health, education and services,” he noted optimistically.
While addressing a high-level panel of African leaders at the summit, the VP stated that Namibia has been following what he termed the “Russian special operation in Ukraine”, and its humanitarian impact on economic development globally and the African continent. Therefore, he said, Namibia supports all efforts being made to end the devastating conflict. On the issue of the reform of multilateral systems, Mbumba said Namibia strongly believes the international financial system needs to be reformed to provide equal benefits to both developed and developing countries. During the opening day of the international summit, Russian president Vladimir Putin gave the assurance that his country will continue to pay special attention to deliveries of wheat, barley, corn and other grain crops to African friends, including as humanitarian aid through the UN Food Programme.
“On the one hand, the western countries are obstructing the supply of our grain and fertilisers, and on the other hand, I will say it frankly, they are hypocritically accusing us of the current crisis situation in the world food market,” said the host.
Putin observed that Russia is able to replace Ukrainian grain both on a commercial basis and in the form of gratuitous assistance to the most-needy African countries, particularly since Russia is expecting a record harvest this year. “We are convinced that with the application of appropriate agricultural technologies and the proper organisation of agricultural production, Africa, in the future, cannot only feed itself and ensure its own food security, but also become an exporter of various types of food. And from Russia, there will be only support, I assure you,” he continued.
The Russian leader noted that his country has ample experience in creating and using information technologies in tax administration, registration of property rights, and the provision of electronic public services to citizens and legal entities as well as companies. Therefore, they can assist interested African countries in launching similar systems, and said Russia is always ready to share best-practices in the context of technological development.
Furthermore, to expand the full range of trade and economic ties, Putin emphasised the importance of quickly moving to shift financial and trade transactions to national currencies, including the Russian Ruble.
“In this regard, we are ready to work with African countries to develop their financial infrastructure, and to connect banking institutions to the Financial Message Transmission System created in Russia, which allows cross-border payments to be made, regardless of some of the currently existing and restrictive western systems. This will help increase the stability, predictability and security of mutual trade exchanges,” said Putin. – mndjavera@nepc.com.na