Namibia to expand ties with China in South-South cooperation

WINDHOEK, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Namibia will sign a tripartite agreement for the second phase of the South-South cooperation program with China and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations later this year.

The statement was made Monday by Jona Musheko, a spokesperson for the Namibian Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, who said the agreement aims to deepen cooperation between the parties and boost economic growth, and the commitments under the agreement will include knowledge exchange, technology transfer, intra-south trade, and capacity building.

"Namibia embraces the principles of South-South Cooperation and recognizes the potential and platform presented by this cooperation framework for countries in the Southern parts of the globe to share and exchange resources, expertise, skills, and scientific knowledge for their economic and social development," he said.

Namibia has long sought cooperation with China, with the first phase of the South-South Project tripartite agreement signed in September 2013 and implemented between 2015 and 2017.

According to Musheko, in phase one of the South-South cooperation, the Chinese government provided financial support of about 20 million yuan (about 2.92 million U.S. dollars). Namibia recorded success under the project's first phase, including technical assistance in soil fertility and procurement of machinery for seed production.

In 2015, 15 agricultural Chinese experts and technicians were attached to various Green Schemes projects of the ministry and the Central Veterinary Laboratory for two years.