Niel Terblanche
Namibia could be represented at the highest level at an upcoming Russia-Africa summit that is slated to take place in St. Petersburg in July this year.
The Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, Ipumbu Shiimi, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group conference in Washington, told Russian media representatives that a high-level government delegation will in all probability attend this very important summit.
The finance minister told Sputnik that he might not be part of the delegation that will represent Namibia.
“I believe Namibia will have a delegation because Namibia and Russia are good friends. The high-level delegation could be headed by President Hage Geingob but I don’t have a lot of information yet,” Shiimi said.
The finance Minister stressed that he considers this year’s summit very important because the event will provide Namibia with the opportunity to discuss matters of mutual interest.
“I think it’s always good when people come together, to discuss a common interest. I think it’s something we should all encourage. I think it’s an important summit,” he said.
In March the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, invited the leaders of African countries to attend a summit in Russia.
In the meantime, Alfredo Hengari, the Press Secretary of President Hage Geingob, confirmed that the Head of State received an invitation to participate in the Africa-Russia summit.
Hengari said that Namibia participated through a Parliamentary delegation in the work leading up to the summit.
“Namibia and Russia enjoy excellent bilateral relations, with exchanges in the fields of science, technology and also the country enjoying investments from Russia in different sectors, including mining and tourism,” Hengari said.
The first Russia-Africa summit was held in October 2019 in the Russian city of Sochi, and the second is scheduled for July this year in St. Petersburg.
