Egypt and Namibia enjoy strong and deep relations as Egypt is one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Namibia after its independence in 1990. In April 2008, Namibia posted its first ambassador to Cairo and the Middle East.
Joint co-operation between the two countries targets diverse fields including agriculture and water management.
Namibian Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Carl HG Schlettwein spoke to The Egyptian Gazette about the horizons of cooperation in these two vital sectors.
Regarding transboundary water co-operation, Minister Schlettwein said this was one of the main topics in Cairo Water Week, a matter that helps lay foundation for constructive dialogue. “Transboundary water co-operation issues are sensitive and complicated due to the limited available resources, which makes co-operation essential. So it is very important to put this file on the table as environment affects everybody,“ he remarked.
The minister went on to say that the Nile is one of the world’s great rivers. It gave Egypt history. That is why, he continued, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi stressed that cooperation in water issues is the only way to go.
“To be honest with you, water issues have always been politicised and this is not something new. But water scarcity has put additional pressure on countries. There must be multilateral protocols with binding obligations for co-operation,” he stressed.
In a related context, the minister hailed Egypt’s water management strategy, describing it as “fantastic”. He added that the “Egyptian national strategy has great capacity to protect and monitor floods and water levels. It also adopts smart irrigation systems.”
It is worth mentioning that Agriculture Minister El-Sayed El-Quseir, earlier this week, met his Namibian counterpart to discuss means of boosting joint co-operation in agricultural domain. This step came within the framework of President Sisi’s directives to provide all aspects of support to the African brothers.
“We have discussed co-operation in the fields of producing vaccines for livestock as well as in smart irrigation so we can save water and produce more,” the Namibian minister said.
The two ministers discussed several issues including animal production and veterinary quarantine.
The Namibian minister also stressed the paramount importance of boosting co-operation in trade in agricultural commodities. ” We both believe that we cannot only co-operate but also trade. Co-operation in agriculture can benefit several sectors, empower women and youth,” he noted.
The minister also revealed that Namibia is to receive group of Egyptian experts in December.
“The goal is to learn from Egypt and its capacities. The Egyptian delegation includes various experts in the fields of water and agriculture,” he concluded.
