By Kuvee Kangueehi WINDHOEK United States Ambassador to Namibia, Joyce Barr, yesterday paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of the National Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab, to bid farewell. Barr said she was sad to leave Namibia and expressed her appreciation to the Speaker’s Office for its support and help during her term. She said Namibia as a young democracy was a model for other African countries and the Office of the Speaker also played a significant role in nurturing this young democracy. In response, Gurirab described Barr as an “ambassador for rural development”. He said Barr frequently travelled to rural areas and addressed social issues such as HIV/Aids, unemployment and gender. The Speaker said the ambassador’s regular visits to peace volunteers in many remote parts of Namibia would be a memory he would always treasure. Gurirab said the US was on record for being the first country to recognise Namibia after it gained independence. Former US President George Bush (Senior) and then Secretary of State James Baker had called to congratulate the country. He said Namibia had signed a number of bilateral agreements and had received aid from the US. He however said that Namibia had not taken full advantage of the AGOA agreement and the country should work harder to make use of the opportunity. He told Barr that Namibia would continue to work with her successor in developing the country and that the government was committed to skills development among the youth, as well as to improve gender representation in Parliament and other decision-making institutions. The Speaker condemned the recent wave of violence against women in the country and said he had not only been disturbed by the spread of violence but the manner in which it was being carried out. “We will continue to fight and contain the violence against women and children.” He said in the past it was believed that this type of violence could not be committed by Africans but as the world was becoming a global village, Africans were mimicking this type of violence.