Justicia Shipena
Speaker of the National Assembly Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila says China can support Namibia in adding value to its natural resources.
She said this would benefit the country.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila made the remarks during a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhao Weiping on Monday at Parliament.
The meeting aimed to reaffirm the relationship between Namibia and China.
“We could learn from their policies and the use of technology such as AI to strengthen our capacity and not only to reap the benefits but also to mitigate risks. China can also help to add value to our natural resources for our country’s benefit,” she said.
She said Namibia could draw lessons from China’s economic development, especially its success in reducing poverty over a short period.
“We can learn a lot from China. It has made so much progress, particularly in reducing poverty in a short period of time,” she said.
Meanwhile, Weiping took the opportunity to congratulate Kuugongelwa-Amadhila on her recent appointment as Speaker.
He said China values its friendship with Namibia and supports its development goals, including value addition to local resources.
He pointed to the ongoing cooperation between the two parliaments.
In 2019, the chairperson of the standing committee of China’s National People’s Congress, Li Zhanshu, handed over a refurbished conference hall and donated a parliamentary bus.
Both Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and Weiping said the two countries should deepen cooperation, especially in artificial intelligence, investment, and value addition.
Their call follows an April visit to President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah during which Weiping revealed that bilateral trade between Namibia and China reached about US$1.3 billion (approximately N$23.1 billion) in 2024.
During that visit, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia would continue to contribute to the international agenda while working to ensure that its people benefit.
