Mgr. Giacinto Berloco, Apostolic Nuncio and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps to the Kingdom of Belgium, with (from left to right) Dr. Kaire Mbuende, Ambassador of Namibia, Mrs. Latungika Loide Shikwambi, First Secretary at the Namibian Embassy, and Mr. Andre Apollus, Counsellor Agriculture of the Namibian Embassy.
The Embassy of the Republic of Namibia in Brussels celebrated the 26th anniversary of the Independence of Namibia. H.E. Dr. Kaire Mbuende, Ambassador of Namibia, organized a reception at the ACP House in Brussels on Friday 18 March 2016 to mark this occasion.
For the photo-album of this event, please click the link below: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNBvZB75MTxufnTCB9QMH9OqGxzgzGgk 5Nlm8trC6QxIC-U0uBWdkjB4HnXDfnYpA?key=WXdwQXNjMV9Tb3dhVWZnNk5PS1RFcU5WcC1xdXpR
The occasion was graced by ambassadors, diplomats, the Secretary-General of the ACP Group of States, Namibian Members of Parliament, the honorary consuls of Namibia in the Netherlands, civil servants from Belgium and the EU, business people and members of the diaspora.
Ambassador Mbuende delivered a statement in which he characterized the event as representing not only the commemoration of the lowering of the South African apartheid flag and the hoisting of the Namibian national flag but above all as a celebration of 26 years of democracy, peace and stability and sustained economic growth.
The ambassador drew the attention of the gathering to the Harambee Prosperity Plan which was then soon to be unveiled by the President of Namibia, Dr. Hage Geingob. The Harambee Prosperity Plan “aims to address income inequality by declaring an all-out war on the scourge of poverty. It is based on five pillars, social development; economic development; infrastructures development; and effective governance; service delivery; and international relations and cooperation.
A number of critical success factors have been identified for each of the pillars. The Plan will complement our National Development Plans and Vision 2030, thus recognizing and building on previous successes and achievements but attempting to expedite the significant reduction in poverty levels, reducing inequalities and uplifting the living standards of all Namibians.
In the short term, the plan will offer immediate relief to the vulnerable groups and in the long run it will set precedent for innovative government intervention for effective service delivery.”
The Ambassador also spoke about the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU, which are in the meantime signed. “The Agreement offers us Duty Free and Quota Free access to the EU market on essentially all our products. The market access granted provides an excellent opportunity for our exporters to take full advantage of the window of opportunities provided by the preferential terms in the Agreement. In our view this provides predictable and transparent rules for trade, and consequently confidence for investors.
The challenge for us is to address the various supply side constraints. We hope that the development cooperation framework will have ample scope to support us overcome the supply side constraint and help transform the structure of our economy to be integrated in the global market place on a competitive basis. This should result in greater local value addition to goods for national, regional and international markets, in ways which generate increased employment and enhance livelihood opportunities for our country and all its people.
On the future of the ACP-EU Relations Post-2020, we believe that the EU will continue to be an important partner of Namibia and ACP at large in many areas. In the same vein, we foresee a role by a well-resourced and focused ACP as a group of countries working together in solidarity, capable of defending and promoting the interest of its members in a dynamic global environment.
The event crowned with the profiling of Namibian cuisines, drinks, music and dance. The success of the cultural program would not have been possible without the generous donations of beer, fish and meat, from the Namibian Breweries, Hangana Seafood and GPS Food Group respectively.”
For more information:
Mission of Namibia to the EU, the OPCW, the ACP Group, Embassy to the Benelux countries (HE Ambassador Dr. Kaire Mbuende): http://www.namibiaembassy.be
