The Presidency says President Nangolo Mbumba’s working visit to Germany and Spain underscored Namibia’s commitment to fostering stronger international partnerships to promote economic growth and sustainable development.
Strategic cooperation with Germany and other international partners, including the United Nations, will accomplish this.
In a statement issued, the Presidency said Dr. Mbumba’s working visit to Hamburg, Berlin, and Madrid demonstrated Namibia’s commitment to international cooperation in addressing global challenges, from climate change to economic development.
It said Namibia’s ongoing collaboration with Germany is expected to continue growing, with promising opportunities in green energy, trade, and infrastructure development.
President Mbumba participated in the Hamburg Sustainability Conference on October 7th, following which he held bilateral talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
‘’The bilateral talks focused on a number of issues in Namibia-Germany relations, including the Joint Declaration on Genocide, Apology, and Reparations and Namibia’s ambition to develop green industries and green hydrogen. President Mbumba stated that Namibia and Germany shared a painful past and there was a need to resolve the genocide issue in the interest of the affected Herero and Nama communities in particular and Namibians in general ’’, the statement reads.
The following day, President Mbumba held bilateral talks with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany in the capital, Berlin.
The Presidency said the two leaders emphasised the need to deal with the past and agreed to strengthen cooperation for the benefit of the two countries.
The Namibian leader rounded off the first leg of the visit with participation in the high-level business breakfast with the Berlin Chamber of Commerce and Industry on October 9th.
President Mbumba highlighted Namibia’s strategic goal to become a logistics hub for the SADC region, driven by investments in port, energy, rail, and air infrastructure that position Namibia as a gateway to the region.
‘’A key theme of the President’s remarks was Namibia’s ambition to become a global leader in green hydrogen production. The President invited German investors to collaborate in developing green hydrogen, green ammonia, and related sectors and noted the ongoing partnerships between Namibia and Germany in skills development for this emerging industry’’, the Presidency said.
Dr. Mbumba then travelled to Madrid, where he met in with King Felipe VI of the Kingdom of Spain and highlighted the importance of scaling up economic cooperation between Namibia and Spain.
He also provided King Felipe with an update on the prevailing drought situation in Namibia.