NAMIBIA’S deputy prime minister and minister of international relations and cooperation, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, has urged Namibia and Zimbabwe to pursue regional integration “with vigour and determination”.
The minister made this remark at the ninth session of the Namibia-Zimbabwe Joint Commission of Cooperation (JCC) in Windhoek earlier today.
The session provides the two countries with a platform to further consolidate their bilateral relations, in line with a cooperation agreement signed by the two countries in 1992, Nandi-Ndaitwah detailed.
“[The agreement] laid the foundation for increased cooperation between our two countries. It ensures that we further strengthen our bilateral relations, which are based on a shared history of our struggle against colonialism and foreign domination,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah urged the delegates and ministers in attendance to exchange ideas on how the two countries can best promote trade, investment and joint ventures.
The Zimbabwean delegation was led by the country’s foreign affairs and international trade minister, Sibusiso Moyo, who is also the co-chairperson of the commission, alongside Nandi-Ndaitwah.
Furthermore, the minister said it is important to develop complementary investment strategies that will enable the countries to create synergies in an industrial capacity.
“This holds potential in the area of hospitality and tourism, extractive industries, fisheries and aquaculture, infrastructure development, transport, finance and telecommunications,” she said.
Citing the African Continent Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) that was signed on 7 July this year in Niger, Nandi-Ndaitwah encouraged Namibia and Zimbabwe to play a role in the operationalisation of the agreement within their bilateral cooperation in order to achieve Africa’s Agenda 2063.
The AfCFTA is an instrument aimed at facilitating trade between African countries, with no hindrances, the minister explained.
“As Southern African Development Community member states, our two countries adhere to SADC ideals that our nations and peoples can grow stronger and indeed prosper when our citizens join in a common cause to address common challenges and to take advantage of shared opportunities,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah went on to congratulate Zimbabwe on its new chairing of the SADC organ on politics, defence and security cooperation.
“Honourable Minister, count on Namibia’s support as we consolidate the democratic gains we have recorded in our region,” she said.
Delegates and ministers from Zimbabwe have been in Namibia since Monday for the JCC, and the session will conclude with the signing of several agreements by the countries’ presidents on Friday.
