Outgoing Brazilian ambassador to Namibia Vivian Loss Sanmartin has affirmed Brazil’s commitment to assisting Namibia in safeguarding its coastline, particularly following offshore oil and gas discoveries.
Sanmartin said this during a farewell courtesy visit to president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at State House on Thursday.
“I know you have the oil and gas offshore sector now and you need more monitoring of the coast, you need more boats, you need the expertise, and we are willing to help you with that,” she said.
The ambassador said discussions are underway between the defence ministries of both nations regarding Brazil providing naval expertise.
Nandi-Ndaitwah praised the multifaceted cooperation between Namibia and Brazil, placing particular emphasis on defence relations, especially in the naval sector.
She said the longstanding partnership has seen significant collaboration in military training, naval capacity building, education and agriculture.
“Brazil is one country, since we got independence, that we have been strengthening our cooperation with. Both being coastal countries, when we established our navy, we depended on the technical support from Brazil, which saw naval agreement cooperation and over 1 500 marines trained in Brazil,” she said.
The president further indicated that both countries are members of the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, and that Brazil has significantly aided Namibia in meeting the demands of the law of the sea.
Additionally, Nandi-Ndaitwah highlighted the Walvis Bay Corridor Group’s establishment of an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2012, which has expanded connections between the ports of Walvis Bay and Santos.
The president also received a farewell courtesy visit from the outgoing ambassador of Spain to Namibia, Alberto de la Calle, with both leaders mentioning the thriving cooperation between the two countries since Namibia gained independence. – Nampa
