PM Modi's visit to focus on trade, investment: Namibian Presidency

Windhoek, July 1 (IANS) The Namibian Presidency has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Southwest African nation on July 9 will explore new avenues to enhance the bilateral collaborations between India and Namibia.

Namibia will be the final leg of PM Modi's five-nation visit after Ghana (July 2-3), Trinidad and Tobago (July 3-4), Argentina (July 4-5) and Brazil (July 5-8).

It will be the first visit of Prime Minister Modi to Namibia, and the third-ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Namibia. It is also the first bilateral State Visit that Nandi-Ndaitwah is hosting after taking over as the President of Namibia in March.

"Driven by a common desire to deepen bilateral relations between the two nations, the leaders will witness the signing of bilateral cooperation agreements, including those in trade and investment, the environment, education, health, and ICT," state run Namibian Broadcasting Corporation(NBC) quoted Alfredo Hengari, the Press Secretary of Namibia as saying on Monday (local time).

According to Hengari, PM Modi's programme includes an address to a joint session of Parliament and a visit to Heroes' Acre in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, the war memorial of the country.

The Namibian Press Secretary stated that PM Modi and President of Namibia Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will exchange views on global issues of mutual concern.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), PM Modi's forthcoming visit to Namibia, the first since Namibian President Nandi-Ndaitwah assumed office, is a significant step towards renewing the bilateral ties and deepening economic engagement between both nations.

PM Modi's July 9 visit, happening so early in the Namibian President's tenure, would be very useful in renewing the relationship, besides deepening economic engagement, the MEA stated.

The MEA said that during his visit, PM Modi will hold bilateral talks with President Nandi-Ndaitwah and also pay homage to the Founding Father and first President of Namibia, Late Dr. Sam Nujoma.

India and Namibia have strong historical linkages, with New Delhi recognising the South West African country much before it attained independence in 1990.

Both nations enjoy a very warm relationship and share a wide range of areas for cooperation, including in the domains of environment and biodiversity, trade and investments, mining, diamond processing, energy, healthcare, defence, agriculture, capacity building and education.

PM Modi's visit is expected to further deepen and strengthen bilateral relations between the two nations.

--IANS

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