Hilya Ngolo
The second round of political consultations between Namibia and Spain recently started to further enhance the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
The executive director of the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation (MIRCO) Penda Naanda said that the bilateral relations to which government attaches great importance should continue to expand exponentially in all sectors of life for the mutual benefit of the two countries and their people.
“I have no doubt that we will find ways of building sustainable cooperation between our two countries, as well as discussing multilateral cooperation and the current geopolitical challenges around the globe,” Naanda said.
The MIRCO executive director further stated that the world is faced with various global challenges, such as threats to international peace and security, climate change, global economic instability, supply chain problems and migration, and is hopeful that through combined multilateral efforts, they will be able to overcome these challenges and make the world more peaceful.
Alicia Rico Perez, Director General for Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Spain, said that the initiative is a functional framework to keep on strengthening the excellent collaboration between the two countries.
Spain is to assume the tenure of the Presidency of the European Union Council on 1 July 2023.
Perez said Spain will ensure to play the leadership role within the European Union and stay committed to the European projects.
He further mentioned that Spain will have a strong focus from an external relations perspective on Africa and have consultations to exchange views on where their priorities will be.
Spain continues to be active in its engagement at international fora. Namibia had received the Spanish envoy to present Malaga’s candidature to host the 2027 International Exposition under the theme of “Urban Era Towards The Sustainable City”.
With Spain’s long expo experience, the nation expects the specialised exposition to be a great achievement.
The first round of political consultations between Namibia and Spain took place last year in Madrid, where they renewed their memorandum of understanding(MoU) on political dialogue. Namibia and Spain have been in partnership since the Independence of Namibia in 1990.