Cuban youth have been encouraged to visit Namibia for business, arts, cultural and educational exchanges.
Prime minister Elijah Ngurare made the remarks when he met with the first secretary of the Young Communist League of Cuba, Meyvis Echevarria, and her delegation at the Fidel Castro Museum in Cuba on Saturday.
He urged the young people of both countries to carry forward the spirit of revolution, saying it is now their responsibility to stand firm for the future of Namibia and Cuba.
Ngurare said former leaders such as Namibia’s founding president, Sam Nujoma, and Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro had planted the seeds of revolution that the current generation must continue to nurture.
“Those who went before us, such as Sam Nujoma and Fidel Castro, are no longer here, but they planted the seed of revolution that we should emulate,” he said.
Ngurare said Cuba was the only country outside of Africa that Namibians knew of that sent soldiers to fight and die for Namibia’s liberation without expecting anything in return.
He attributed the solidarity to Castro’s revolutionary leadership and his belief in the historic connection between Cuba and Africa.
“Fidel could have said, “I do not know those Namibians, we are not going”. But he did the opposite – he sent his troops,” Ngurare said.
He urged the youth to focus on economic emancipation, saying the next revolution should be centred on economic development.
“Let us make the impossible possible like Fidel Castro. Castro, as the leader of the revolution, did his part. We must now be the leaders of the economic revolution,” he said.
