President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (r) greets President Nangolo Mbumba of Namibia at Bellevue Palace/Photo Credit: Kojovi Agbelessessy/MediaKad/AfricaNewsAnalysis
08 October, 2024
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany today received his counterpart from Namibia, President Nangolo Mbumba, with military honours at Bellevue Palace, the seat of the German Presidency.
The ambassador of Namibia to Germany, His Excellency Herr Martin Andjaba, accompanied President Mbumba and members of his delegation to the Presidency.
President Mbumba and President Steinmeier inspected a Guard of Honour mounted by contingents of the Army, Navy and Airforce of the Federal German Armed Forces on the forecourt of Bellevue Palace.
Namibian-German relations are diverse and close, for example in investments in the production of green hydrogen, tourism and the reform of the United Nations. There are also close civil society relations, for example within the framework of town twinning programmes.
A central concern is coming to terms with the genocide committed against the Herero and Nama peoples under German colonial rule in the former colony of German South West Africa during the war from 1904 to 1908. Close cooperation exists here in areas such as the repatriation of cultural assets, cultural preservation, scientific and historical research and the promotion of bilateral cultural projects. In May 2021, a Joint Declaration on the Reappraisal of German Colonial Crimes was initialled, but has not yet been signed.
Development cooperation also takes account of this special relationship. Around 342 million euros in subsidised loans and grants were pledged during government negotiations in June 2023. With the support of the Federal Foreign Office, the BMZ and the GIZ, the German Olympic Sports Confederation is promoting social sports projects in Namibia, particularly in the field of athletics.
Cultural and scientific relations are broadly based. The Goethe-Institut, the bilingual Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek, nine partner schools and Deutsche Welle are involved in extensive language and programme work. University co-operation exists with the University of Namibia (UNAM) and the Namibia University of Science and Technology. Together with European partners and UNAM, the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg operates the ‘High Energy Stereoscopic System’ telescope in the central Namibian Khomas Highlands.
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