Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (MIRCO) Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia and Venezuela have successfully mapped out areas of cooperation that are mutually beneficial.
Nandi-Ndaitwah during her closing statement at the Namibia-Venezuela Joint Commission of Cooperation (JCC) meeting here Friday said the two countries identified the way forward with planned activities pertaining to mining and petroleum, housing and urban development, agriculture and food security, higher education, libraries and information services, gender equality, cultural matters, trade and electoral matters.
“During our deliberations over the past two days, each sector produced strategic outcomes and activities that will guide the cooperation between our two countries,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah further announced that five Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were signed in the identified sectors, saying the MoU on Agriculture will enable Namibia to learn from the success of Venezuela’s Agricultural sector, where Venezuela has nearly attained complete self-sufficiency.
The other MoUs were signed in the areas of Cooperation on Habitat and Housing, Library and Information Services, as well as Cooperation in Cultural Matters.
“The importance that the development of culture or creative industry can bring to the social cohesion, enlightenment and stability of a country and its people, cannot be underestimated. I, therefore, commend the efforts made to ensure that these areas of cooperation speak to the inclusivity and accessibility of global and indigenous information and participation,” the minister said.
The MoU in Mining Matters, she added was sought out due to the immense potential each country’s mining sectors hold.
She said Namibia’s mining sector has successfully contributed to its Gross Domestic Profit (GDP), and the Namibian diamond has been an important commodity to Namibia’s economy, therefore the country is ready to share its experience in this area, as Venezuela seeks to diversify its Mining Sector to the excavation of diamonds and precious stones.
The Commission has noted that trade between both countries is low, and discussions on how to increase trade through mechanisms to be developed between the Ministry of Industrialization and Trade, the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board, with their Venezuela counterparts are underway.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
