NAMIBIA and Sierra Leone on Tuesday signed an agreement that will lead to a joint commission for cooperation.
The agreement was signed in Windhoek by deputy prime minister and international relations minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and her Sierra Leonean counterpart David Francis.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the agreement aimed to strengthen diplomatic ties between the two nations.
The meeting was also meant to prepare for a reciprocal visit by Sierra Leonean president Julius Maada Bio to Namibia later this year.
Last year, president Hage Geingob visited the west African country.
During the meeting, Francis said the two heads of state agreed to work on consolidating historic relations between the two countries.
“My visit is really about two things, first to strengthen our long historic bilateral relations with the view of looking at two key areas of cooperation. And secondly, to consolidate our multilateral cooperation that will lead to amplifying and leveraging peace, security and development issues on the continent of Africa,” Francis said.
The Namibia-Sierra Leone joint commission for cooperation will focus on key areas such as agriculture, tourism, ports infrastructure, trade and investment, small and medium-enterprises, as well as fisheries and marine resources, he said.
“We decided to focus on these key areas where we know that Namibia has made tremendous progress in terms of development, with huge impact on national development and the transformation of the country into a high middle income country,” he said.
Sierra Leone can learn from Namibia’s efficient management of these key sectors, Francis, who is on a three-day visit to Namibia, said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said cooperation with Sierra Leone started long before Namibia’s independence.
The small west African country provided asylum to many Namibians during the struggle for independence, and the two countries maintain diplomatic ties, with the Namibian ambassador to Ghana also accredited to Freetown, while the Sierra Leone ambassador to South Africa is also accredited to Windhoek.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said at the time herself and many others, including Geingob and former president Hifikepunye Pohamba, travelled under Sierra Leonean diplomatic passports.
Prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila is among those who completed their secondary education in Sierra Leone.
“We need to strengthen the bond of friendship between Namibia and Sierra Leone, hence we need to continuously assess our cooperation and agree on the way forward,” she said.
Francis’ visit to Namibia forms part of this aim, particularly as the continent aspires to be fully industrialised by 2063.
“We have to identify the core areas of cooperation, and I am happy that we have identified and are talking about agriculture, tourism, fisheries and of course, education, water and energy,” she said.
Source: Namibia to strengthen ties with Sierra Leone – The Namibian