The Minister of International Relations and Trade has said the realisation of African countries to trade among one another did not commence following U.S. President Donald Trump's imposed tariffs on African countries.

Selma Ashipala-Musavyi was responding to the question by the RT News channel of whether the imposed tariffs on several African countries have pushed the continent to work towards economic integration.

The interview took place on the sidelines of the second ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum in Cairo, Egypt.

"The African Continental Free Trade Area was launched in 2021, because that's when we celebrated 50 years of political independence, where African nations came together and said, 'Now that we have almost completed the process of decolonisation, because, as you know, Western Sahara is still there, let's now look at economic integration.' And that is why, through the AU Agenda 2063, we have launched the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is just one of the pilot projects," Ashipala-Musavyi said. 

The Namibian minister added that the African countries "are busy completing various protocols to enhance trade among ourselves. In fact, for Namibia, we started training under the rules of the African Continental Free Trade Area in June, when we sent our first consignment to West Africa. So nobody must take credit; it's a realisation that we have done it for ourselves. Yes, the reciprocal tariffs are a concern. Initially, for Namibia, they were put at 25%."

The interview also touched on the genocide negotiations between Namibia and Germany. 

Ashipala-Musavyi said the two countries are still negotiating and are hopeful that it will be concluded soon to address the countries' painful pasts and strengthen bilateral relations between them. 

"The goal is to correct the wrongs that were done to the Namibian people. We are in the process of negotiating a joint declaration. We have not yet concluded our negotiations. And once those negotiations have been concluded, an announcement will be made. Yes, we are demanding that Germany offer an apology, but we are still at the level of negotiation. So no formal apology has been made as yet because the process of negotiation is still ongoing. We are hoping that we will conclude this negotiation so that we can move on. Despite our past, we currently maintain bilateral relations with Germany. We value those relationships, but we want to address this painful past."