Germany's Ambassador to Namibia, Thorsten Hutter, has expressed hope that the Genocide Joint Declaration between Namibia and Germany will be finalised by the end of the year.
Thorsten Hütter made the announcement during a farewell courtesy visit to President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at State House.
Speaking to NBC News shortly after the meeting, Ambassador Hutter said he engaged with the affected communities on the joint declaration during his three-year term in Namibia.
In all his engagements, he noted Namibians' strong commitment to move forward and strengthen cooperation with Germany, despite the need to conclude discussions on the Joint Declaration relating to the 1904-1908 Nama Herero genocide.
"I have visited many people. Many people have visited me. I attended the Genocide Remembrance Day event in Luderitz on the 28th of May. What I took away was that a lot of people in Namibia want remembrance, atonement, and Germany to apologise, and Germany is willing to apologise. They also always said, "We want to work with Germany on our future. We want to look ahead. We want to move ahead. I think that is very encouraging."
The Namibia-Germany Joint Declaration, formally initialled in 2021, addresses the 1904-1908 genocide of the Ovaherero and Nama people.
Meanwhile, Hutter also travelled across Namibia and witnessed first-hand the impact of German-supported development initiatives.
Discussions with the president focused on key areas of mutual interest, including green hydrogen, renewable energy and the continued expansion of economic cooperation.
"We do have a lot of development projects in all regions of the country, and I was able to see them, inspect them, see the progress and also be there at the implementation or inauguration. I think it's very important that you have a president who understands the German-Namibian relationship. We had a very warm meeting. We discussed issues like green hydrogen and renewable energies, but also the part of our relationship that deals with the past."
President Nandi-Ndaitwah expressed appreciation for Germany's participation in the recently concluded Europe-Namibia Business Forum and commended the continued strengthening of bilateral relations between Namibia and Germany.
"I have seen a lot of activities, and when I look in the profile for different things that are happening in different areas of cooperation, there are quite a lot of activities. Yes. And then now the last Europe and Africa business forum, which also went well."