Qatar and Namibia strengthen oil development industry

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Namibia and Qatar have consolidated actions geared towards the development of the oil industry through QatarEnergy’s investment in the recent oil discoveries in the country by TotalEnergies and Shell.

The consolidation follows President Hage Geingob’s bilateral visit to Qatar in February 2022 aimed at seeking investors in areas of mutual interest such as agriculture, energy and tourism.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to Geingob here yesterday, Qatar’s Minister of Energy Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi said QatarEnergy, which is the state-owned petroleum company, is investing in the oil industry through their partners TotalEnergies, Shell, as well as the government by ensuring that the oil industry development benefits Namibians.

Al Kaabi said the two countries have developed a good relationship, therefore QatarEnergy will submit its development plan to the government once the expedition is completed with the partners in an effort to ensure that Namibians greatly benefit from the oil sector.

“We are working very hard with our partners to try and expedite the process which will foresee the development. As a nation of great oil companies, we want to make sure that in everything we do here we support the Namibian government to make sure the developments also greatly supports the citizens,” he noted.

NAMPA

2 (LESOTHO, 11 OCT, AFP) – A millionaire political novice won the most votes in legislative elections in Lesotho but fell short of securing a parliamentary majority that could have ended long-running political gridlock, officials said yesterday.

Revolution for Prosperity (RFP), a party set up only six months ago by businessman Sam Matekane, 64, won 56 out of 120 seats in parliament, according to final results published by the southern African country’s electoral commission.

The small mountain kingdom has been governed for the past decade by a string of coalition governments that have proved fractious and frail, and no premier has served out a full five-year term.

‘Thousands of voters across the entire country endured long queues to exercise their democratic right,’ said Mphasa Mokhochane, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission.

Matekane, who styles himself as a champion of the country’s business community and was considered an outsider in the vote, came close to an outright win but will now have to secure the support of smaller parties to form a government.

AFP

3 (N’DJAMENA, 11 OCT, AFP) – Chad’s ruler Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno yesterday said a ‘government of national union’ would be created in the coming days to steer the course toward new elections following a forum on the country’s future.

The government ‘will put its heart and soul into ensuring that the will of the Chadian people is fully upheld,’ said Deby at ceremonies where he was appointed ‘transitional president’ after the forum which ended on Saturday.

Chad, one of the world’s poorest countries, has endured repeated uprisings and unrest since gaining independence from France in 1960.

Deby, a 38-year-old five-star general, took the helm in April 2021 after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, who had ruled with an iron fist for three decades, was killed during an operation against rebels.

Parliament was dissolved and the constitution suspended as Deby was proclaimed president.

AFP

4 (PARIS, 11 OCT, AFP) – Iranian protesters remained defiant yesterday with students staging sit-ins and some industrial workers going on strike despite a crackdown activists say has left dozens dead and hundreds more imprisoned.

Videos posted on social media indicated that protests flared at various points in the capital and other cities over recent days, with women burning headscarves and shouting slogans against the Islamic republic.

Kurdish rights group Hengaw accused the authorities of using heavy weaponry, including ‘shelling’ on neighbourhoods and ‘machine gun fire’, in the northwestern city of Sanandaj — claims which could not be independently confirmed amid widespread internet blocks.

Gunshots were also heard in Amini’s home town of Saqqez, said the Norway-based group.

The unrest erupted over three weeks ago over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, an Iranian woman of Kurdish origin who died following her arrest by the notorious Tehran morality police who enforce the strict dress rules on women including compulsory headscarves.

AFP

5 (RAMALLAH, 11 OCT, XINHUA) – A 12-year-old Palestinian yesterday succumbed to wounds he sustained from Israeli soldiers’ gunfire during their raid on the northern West Bank city of Jenin in late September.

The 12-year-old, identified as Mahmoud Samoudi from Jenin, was critically injured by a bullet in the belly when Israeli army raided Jenin on Sept. 28, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Four Palestinians were killed and 44 others, including Samoudi, were injured during the raid, according to the ministry.

The number of the Palestinians killed by the Israeli army on their territories since early January has climbed to 165, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, 19 Israelis have been killed and dozens injured in a series of armed attacks carried out by Palestinians in Israeli cities since March, according to official Israeli figures.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency