Chinese ambassador Zhao Weiping says Namibia-China trade has grown by more than 25%, with plans to boost cooperation, women’s training, and development initiatives in the coming years.
He said this at a press meeting at the Chinese embassy in Windhoek yesterday.
Weiping said China will continue to support and strengthen its relations with Namibia through exchanges between Namibian and Chinese officials.
“These very important meetings set the tone for our bilateral relations. Our countries continue to enjoy very close political relations,” he said.
Weiping said the country will invite 50 000 women to China for exchange and training programmes and establish a global centre for women’s capacity building with relevant countries and organisations to train more women.
“We believe this important meeting on women has brought the world together in Beijing to consolidate consensus and inject new momentum into the continued development of the global cause of women,” he said.
Weiping said China will donate about N$172 million to United Nations women’s organisations, and earmark a quota of N$1 billion for China’s global development and south-south cooperation fund for implementing development cooperation projects for women and girls.
Additionally, China proposed the Global Governance Initiative to promote greater democracy in international relations and safeguard the interests of the Global South.
“I would like to point out that China fully understands Africa’s demand for the West to provide reparations and redress historical injustices related to the slave trade,” Weiping said.
He said the next five years will be critical for China to realise socialism and modernisation by 2027.
He wished president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah a happy 73th birthday and also celebrated the minister of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture, Sanet Steenkamp’s, birthday.
