Namibia 'Valued and Trusted Partner' In Africa: PM Modi

Windhoek: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on Wednesday called for expediting discussions on the India-South African Customs Union (SACU) preferential trade agreement (PTA) as they discussed ways to tap the full potential of bilateral trade.

During the delegation-level talks, The Prime Minister mentioned that India will be scaling up development cooperation efforts through capacity-building programmes for Namibian experts and exploring partnerships in setting up manufacturing facilities in Namibia.

The Prime Minister offered India’s support for quick-impact development projects in the areas of agriculture, information technology, cybersecurity, healthcare, education, women's empowerment and child welfare. He also offered India's experience of using drones for agricultural purposes, saying such a project could bring value to Namibia.

After the talks, India and Namibia signed two MoUs on setting up an entrepreneurship development centre in Namibia and on cooperation in the field of health and medicine. Namibia submitted letters of acceptance for joining Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuels Alliance.

Namibia becomes the first country globally to sign a licensing agreement to adopt UPI technology from India.

"Cooperation in areas such as digital technology, defence, security, agriculture, healthcare, education and critical minerals figured prominently in our discussions. We also discussed how to boost linkages in trade, energy and petrochemicals. Expressed gratitude for the assistance from Namibia in Project Cheetah," Mr Modi said after the meeting.

This is the first visit of Mr Modi to Namibia and the third-ever by an Indian Prime Minister to the country. Ahead of talks, Mr Modi paid tribute to Namibia's founding father Sam Nujoma at the national memorial — Heroes' Acre.

Mr Modi was conferred with Namibia's highest civilian award — Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis. The award was presented by Mr Nandi-Ndaitwah. This is the 27th international honour bestowed upon Mr Modi by a foreign government and the fourth during this five-nation tour.

"It is a matter of great pride and honour for me to be honoured with the Welwitschia Mirabilis. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the President, the government of Namibia and the people of Namibia. I humbly accept this honour on behalf of 140-crore Indians. It is a witness to the everlasting friendship between India and Namibia and I feel very proud to be associated with it today. I dedicate this honour to the people of Namibia and India, their continuous progress and development and our unbreakable friendship,” Mr Modi said.

The Prime Minister added: “A true friend is recognised only in difficult times.India and Namibia have stood by each other since the time of their freedom struggle. Our friendship was not born out of politics but out of struggle, cooperation and mutual trust. It has been nurtured by democratic values and dreams of a bright future. In the future, too, we will keep moving ahead, holding each other's hands on the path of development."

Later, while addressing the Namibian Parliament, the Prime Minister said India values Africa's role in world affairs and believes that Africa must not be just a source of raw material but must lead in value creation and sustainable growth.

“India and Namibia have a powerful story of cooperation, conservation and compassion,” said the PM while highlighting India's cheetah reintroduction program and its readiness to supply Namibia with a radiotherapy machine. Namibia has helped relocate eight cheetahs to Kuno in Madhya Pradesh and talks are underway for the second phase of the cheetah transfer.

"We are excited to support the next generation of Namibian scientists, doctors and leaders... We must act together. Let us create a future defined not by power, but by partnership; not by dominance, but by dialogue; not by exclusion, but by equity," Mr Modi said in his address to the joint session of Parliament of Namibia. He added India was ready to expand its cooperation with Africa in defence and security.