President Hage Geingob has called for collaboration between Namibia and Russia in the agriculture and green hydrogen sectors while putting an emphasis on poverty eradication in the country.
“Namibia is a stable country, but unemployment is a major issue. To address this, there are many areas where we can cooperate such as agriculture and green hydrogen,” Geingob said in an interview with the Russian News Agency’s (TASS) First Deputy Director General and International Affairs Journalist Mikhail Gusman.
“We are mastering the new area of green hydrogen, and have a region [ideal] for agriculture in the south of the country that needs irrigation. We are asking those who supported us in the struggle for independence should now come and also cooperate with us in the economy.”
The President noted that the main problem in Africa is poverty elimination, lack of industrialisation and unemployment.
“Our problem here, in Namibia, is unemployment among the youth. When you are young, and you have no work, everybody can lead you astray. This issue is very serious for us, as well as agriculture and industrialisation in Africa,” he said.
“People are complaining that Africa provides raw materials to other countries for implementation of industrialisation and development of technologies in them. We want people to come here, to have excellent jobs here and to develop technologies here as well. Otherwise, there will be problems in Africa.”
This comes as the summit between Russia and Africa, which is scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg in July 2023, will allow for the promotion of the idea of a new world, according to Geingob.
“Such conferences are very important because they enable us to restore long-term relations and then to seriously discuss the areas where the Russians can help Namibia and Africa. And also, to see how the idea of a new world can be promoted,” he said.
The President added that the world is becoming increasingly complicated for small countries, and he expressed concern that the world is becoming a single-pole system with a single centre of power that dictates its will.
If this continues, it will be over for small countries like Namibia, which is why he believes in a bipolar system or multilateralism.
“We believe that such meetings as the Russian-African summit strengthen the relationship. So, there is no single pole of power dictating to the world. But if there is a creative initiative, friendship between the Russians and the Africans regenerates, and we can see where to move further without being at enmity with somebody. But friendship should continue in the sense that we must decide what we want to do together, without any exploitation and the like. That is why such meetings are very important,” he added.
