NAMIBIA has signed over 90 trade-related agreements with South Africa.
This was announced at the opening of the senior officials meeting of the third session of the Namibia/South Africa Binational Commission in Windhoek yesterday.
Penda Naanda, the executive director of international relations and cooperation, said the number of bilateral agreements signed between the two countries is remarkable, and that the implementation of these agreements should be key.
“I therefore urge our senior officials to redouble and rededicate joint efforts aimed at implementing legal instruments between our two sister countries,” he said.
Senior officials from Namibia and South Africa are gathered in Windhoek until tomorrow to discuss political, socio-economic, and security issues between the two countries.
Naanda said there is a vital need to turn the vast resource potential between the two countries into bankable and practical actions that would positively change the living conditions of people from both countries.
“I want us to make sure our discussions are focused and action-oriented, with measurable goals of making positive changes in the lives of our people, while deepening and broadening our bilateral cooperation programme,” he said.
Naanda said the meeting will prioritise the promotion of economic growth and sustainable development.
He said this would not only address the economic and social challenges faced by the two countries, but would also contribute to the realisation of the Southern African Development Community’s Regional Integration Agenda, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Namibia-South Africa Binational Commission was launched in Namibia in 2013, followed by the second session hosted by South Africa in 2016.
The current session was supposed to be hosted last year, but has been postponed several times.
The meeting was supposed to be co-chaired by presidents Hage Geingob and Cyril Ramaphosa, but was instead co-chaired by Naanda and Tselane Mokuena, the acting deputy director general of the Africa Branch of South Africa’s international relations department.
Speaking at the opening, Mokuena reiterated that the two countries face the same socio-economic challenges, such as unemployment, poverty and inequality.
She said the meeting presents an opportunity to examine the scope of bilateral relations between the two countries and sets the scene for new areas of cooperation based on mutual interests and benefits.
“We are certain that more can be done economically by both countries,” Mokuena said.
South Africa and Namibia are inextricably linked economically, with a large number of South African companies doing business in Namibia.
In January, the largest chunk of imports, at 35,9%, were from South Africa, while the neighbouring country also emerged as Namibia’s largest export destination, with a share of 27,9% of all goods that left the country.