Ghana and Namibia have held the second session of their Permanent Joint Commission of Cooperation (PJCC) in Accra.
The First Session was held 12 years ago in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It was Ghana’s turn to hold the Second Session, which took place at the Obed Yao Asamoah Conference Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration from 9th to 11th November, 2016. The technical experts session was officially opened by Mr. Edwin Agyei the Acting Chief Director of the Ministry on behalf of Ghana’s Foreign Minister, the Hon. Hannah S. Tetteh, MP.
The First Session was held in 1992 during the visit of the Founding President of Namibia, Dr. Sam Nujoma to Ghana. Within that context Ghana and Namibia signed two bilateral agreements on Mutual Exemptions of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic/Official/Service Passports and for the Holding of Political and Diplomatic Consultations
The Ministerial Meeting took place on the last day of the Session where the Agreed Minutes and an MOU on Fisheries were signed. Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFA&RI) led the Ghanaian side which included the Deputy Foreign Minister, the Acting Chief Director, the High Commissioner of Ghana to Namibia and officials of MFA&RI. The Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister of the Republic of Namibia, led the Namibian side which also included the Minister of Fisheries, Deputy Minister of Works and Transport, the Permanent Secretary, Namibia’s High Commissioner to Ghana and officials from the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation (MIRCO) of the Republic of Namibia.
The two Ministers underscored the importance of the relations between their two countries and called for more interaction to advance their economies. They spoke of the need for more trade and commerce between their countries and cooperation in other crucial areas like education, culture, air transport and exchange of best practices in other fields.
The Agreed Minutes identified among others, the following areas for cooperation: Industrialization, Trade and SME Development; Lands and Natural Resources; Tourism; Environment; Poverty Eradication; Narcotics Control; Natural Resources and Children and Gender Issues.
Jointly closing the Session, the Namibian Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, and Ghana’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Hon Mr. Emmanuel Bambande appealed to the MMDA’s involved to be more assertive and ensure that the aspirations of the PJCC are met. The two Foreign Ministers had earlier agreed during their meeting that officials of both countries will meet regularly annually to monitor and evaluate progress while a full PJCC would be held every two years.
The Namibian delegation has since left for home.
Source: Ghana High Commission, Windhoek
