The Speaker of the National Assembly, Professor Peter Katjavivi, and the Vice Chairman of the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee of China, Cai Dafeng, held a bilateral meeting to strengthen diplomatic relations between their parliaments and explore avenues for collaboration.
The relationship between Namibia and China has been strengthened through various parliamentary exchanges and significant gestures of goodwill.
This includes a donation of a bus and refurbishment of the parliament conference hall by the National People's Congress standing committee, which has enhanced parliamentary facility operations.
Katjavivi stated that the two parliamentary institutions have maintained a close and active relationship, offering them the ability to easily review activities and exchange views.
"We have now moved on to having a China-Namibia friendship parliamentary group, and that group would be looking at specific issues of particular importance to Namibia. On our side, we will be raising important issues, for example, how to strengthen training in the field of technology, in the area of capacity building."
The Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Cai Dafeng, emphasised China's steadfast commitment to nurturing a strategic and enduring partnership with Namibia.
"We thank Namibia for the precious support that has been rendered to us in terms of human rights-related issues in Hong Kong. Namibia has withstood the pressure from the UN human rights council and voted against the so-called draft decision drafted by the US and some Western countries, which China highly appreciates. China is prepared to work with Namibia to further enhance the high level of exchanges and expand and enrich people-to-people exchanges in all areas and at all levels."
Dafeng emphasised China's keen interest in fostering close collaboration with Namibia, aiming to facilitate the timely export of premium agricultural commodities, including mutton, deep-sea red crab, and grapes, to the Chinese market.