· The political dialogue between European Union and Namibia late last month has dwelled upon several issues.
· In a joint statement issued this week, the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation of Namibia and EU delegation said that the discussion on human rights, with particular reference to gender violence, was one of the highlights of the discussions.
The political dialogue between European Union and Namibia late last month has dwelled upon several issues ranging from the multilateral order, AU-EU relations, climate change, biodiversity and green-recovery to the Covid-19 response and economic recovery.
In a joint statement issued this week, the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation of Namibia and EU delegation said that the discussion on human rights, with particular reference to gender violence, was one of the highlights of the discussions. The Namibian spokesman confirmed the upcoming launch of the International Women Peace Centre on 31 October 2020. EU Delegation has agreed to support the activities of the Centre.
The discussions also included various priorities of Namibia such as the economic recovery post-Covid19, climate change and the need for increased trade opportunities and investment. Tourism being the main revenue earner, the Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah appealed for Namibia to be added to the ‘EU safe destination list’. The Namibian side also urged for visa liberalisation as well as more flexible tax regimes and rules of origin under the Economic Partnership Agreement.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Nandi-Ndaitwah and Ambassador of the European Union to Namibia, Sinikka Antila co-chaired the session. Six European Union Member States namely Spain, Germany, France and Finland, while Sweden and Hungary (non-resident Member States) joined via WebEx.
