Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at the State House in Windhoek on Wednesday during his state visit. The Prime Minister was warmly welcomed by Nandi-Ndaitwah and accorded a ceremonial reception on arrival.
This marks the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Namibia in 27 years and is also the first bilateral state visit hosted by Nandi-Ndaitwah since she assumed office in March this year.
Congratulating Nandi-Ndaitwah on her election, the PM recalled the deep historical ties between the two countries and conveyed condolences on the passing of Namibia’s Founding Father and first President, Dr. Sam Nujoma, earlier this year.
During their talks, the two leaders discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation across various sectors, including defence, maritime security, digital technology and UPI, agriculture, health and pharmaceuticals, energy, and critical minerals. They welcomed the steady growth in trade and called for expediting discussions on an India-SACU Preferential Trade Agreement to unlock greater economic potential.
The Prime Minister assured India’s commitment to scaling up development cooperation with Namibia through capacity building and partnerships in establishing manufacturing facilities. He offered India’s support for Quick Impact development projects in areas such as agriculture, IT, cyber security, healthcare, education, women’s empowerment, and child welfare. Sharing India’s experience in using drones for agriculture, the PM suggested the technology could add value for Namibian farmers.
PM Modi also thanked Namibia for its role in India’s cheetah conservation project and invited the country to join the International Big Cat Alliance.
Both leaders discussed global issues of mutual concern, including strengthening the fight against terrorism. The PM thanked Namibia for its support following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam and stressed the need to amplify the voice of the Global South.
India and Namibia also signed two Memorandums of Understanding: one to set up an Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Namibia and another to strengthen collaboration in health and medicine.
Among other key announcements, Namibia submitted letters of acceptance to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuels Alliance. In addition to this, Namibia became the first country in the world to sign a licensing agreement to adopt India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) technology
Nandi-Ndaitwah later hosted a banquet in honour of PM Modi, who invited her to visit India at a mutually convenient date.
from National https://ift.tt/vrZk3TB