Given the close ties between the two countries, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said time has come for the two countries like India and Namibia to work together to cooperate on the global stage amid a "very challenging" international situation created by factors like debt crises with high-interest rates and tense geopolitical situations.
His remarks came as he along with Namibia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah concluded the 1st India-Namibia Joint Commission meeting in the Namibian capital late Monday.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the roadmap of a growing bilateral partnership that covers the domains of energy, infrastructure, wildlife conservation, trade and Investment, food security, digital, capacity building, health, defence and arts, culture, heritage and people-to-people linkages. "Pleased to conclude the 1st India-Namibia Joint Commission of cooperation and sign its minutes," Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting. He said Namibia occupies a very special place in the hearts and minds of Indians. "And that is because we supported Namibia’s independence and we were very pleased to see Namibia take its rightful place in the comity of nations and become a proud upholder of international order," the external affairs minister said in his opening remarks at the meeting.
He said as the two nations meet, they cannot be oblivious to the world and the challenges that the international order is facing in different respects. Jaishankar said these challenges impact the lives of our people, and the Global South has been a particular victim, of what has been happening in the world for the last three or four years.
"The health, economic and social challenges posed by the post-pandemic combined with the debt crises with high-interest rates, tensed geopolitical situations, besides the ecological, economic and social costs of climate change. I think these have all combined today to really create a very challenging international situation," he said.