Perspective: Prime Minister’s visit to Namibia | 10 July, 2025

0:08 [Music] Namaskar viewers. Hello and welcome to Senset TV. I'm Tina Ja. You're watching Perspective. In the final leg of his five nation tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made history in Namibia, becoming the first Indian leader to receive the country's highest civilian honor. The honor of the most ancient Walwitchia Miraabilis. The honor was conferred by Namibian President Netumbbo Nandi Nedwa in Vindhawk. It is the 27th international recognition that the Prime Minister has received since 2014. In his remarks, Prime Minister Modi called the award a symbol of the enduring India and Namibia friendship rooted in shared democratic values and mutual respect. He

0:56 also reflect on the historic ties between the two nations and expressed confidence in the future of their development partnership. During their wide-ranging discussions, the two leaders explored ways to deepen bilateral cooperation. Prime Minister Modi thanked Namibia for its vital role in the cheetah conservation project that helped reintroduce the species in India. The two countries also signed two key memorandums of understanding. one in the health sector and the other to boost entrepreneurship. The prime minister also addressed a joint session of the Namibian parliament where he emphasized the shared commitment to democratic ideals and highlighted the people centric nature of the India and Namibia relationship. The prime minister

1:41 reiterated India's unwavering support for Africa's development particularly agenda 2063 the continent's strategic vision for inclusive growth. So to discuss the significance of these developments from the honor of besto on prime minister Modi to the growing strategic ties between India and Namibia we are joined by two distinguished guests. So let me begin the program by introducing them to you. It gives me immense pleasure to welcome on the program today professor Ajay Kumar Dubet Center for African Studies JNU professor delighted to have you with us on this broadcast. It gives me immense pleasure also to welcome Ambassador Suresh Goyel, former ambassador. Ambassador, glad to have you with us on this broadcast as well. Professor, coming to you first and before we begin talking about the significance of this visit of the prime

2:28 minister to Namibia considering it comes after a gap of 27 years. Uh help us and our viewers uh understand the India and Namibia relations right from history to the contemporary times. So what we know is that India and Namibia share an old relationship of trust and friendship. India did support Namibia's independent struggle as well. How has this legacy that started with solidarity evolved into a modernday partnership based on mutual growth and cooperation. India and Namibia as you said have historical relationship. when we were fighting against the apathit regime in South Africa, the same regime was controlling Namibia at that point of time as well. So we had extended our

3:15 full support to the freedom fighters in Namibia, Swapo. We recognized Sapo even be before Namibia became independent. We extended all support to Sam Nojma in his fight against uh um colonial internal colonialism that South Africans were perpetuating over there. And it is in this that we could uh establish a very close relationship with leadership of Namibia. that leadership uh was very very um pro- India and it wanted to learn from Indian experiences from then onwards we opened the Indian mission immediately after Namibia became independent in a full full-fledged way

4:01 and we had Namibia NBOG in India and we we cooperated with them in agriculture sectors and many other sectors to begin with our relationship with Namibia is also important historically because we have now very close strategic partnership with South Africa. We also have very strategic and close relationship now with Angola and Namibia is located between these two country and and the sea and therefore this this is an important country with which we had tremendous goodwill and we had not been able to reciprocate and in terms of providing a top level political visit to Namibia prime minister's

4:49 initiative to have large number of political visits to African country to engage them which they always complained about India that there is not much visit from the top level political leadership in India is part of that and also we see that the historical and goodwill that we have is also important from rising India in terms of establishing a strong relationship for our growth requirement certainly professor will will will in fact touch upon how this visit of the prime minister to Namibia uh reflect uh on India's larger uh uh policies in dealing with Africa and and engagements with various African countries in just a

5:35 moment. Let me bring in uh Ambassador Go's perspective uh first from the point of view of the significance of this visit a uh obviously because it uh came at the prime ministerial level after a gap of 27 years and secondly uh uh uh ambassador we've seen powerful symbolic moments during this visit of the prime minister. So I'll start with the honor the highest civilian honor that was bestowed upon our prime minister. What is the broader diplomatic and strategic significance according to you of our prime minister receiving Namibia's highest civilian honor? He's the first Indian leader to have been conferred with that honor. How do you also see this gesture now adding greater value to India and Namibia friendship?

6:20 Uh Tina, let me put it this way. When these honors are conferred on the visiting dignitaries, they are always a symbol of the deepening ties, the respect we have for each other and they are a symbol of the strength that we see in each other for our own mutual working relationship and therefore prime minister is quite right when he says that this honor be having been conferred on him is an honor for India because this is the recognition of what India means for Namibia. So always a great honor, always a great thing to happen. Uh increasing number of hours that Prime Minister Modi is getting all very very good really. Let me come to

7:06 the basics of I mean I know that we can have many uh uh points of uh basically uh significance in terms of display of this important uh in terms of showcasing the image. But why is the relationship between India and Namibia important in the modern context? Professor Raj Dub has spoken a great deal about our historical historical not in the sense of going back to thousand years even though I've been to Namibia on several occasions and there are evidence when people had traveled through Namibia to even thousand years ago through South Africa and through the north of African continent that come down there. So there has been interaction at the people level but

7:53 in the modern context if you remember the prime minister Modi has been focusing on the global south. Everywhere when we go whether it is bricks or G20 it is global south which is going to play a role on the global platform in terms of the geoeconomics in terms of the geopolitics in terms of really climate change conventions because if the leadership or if the process remains only with the the north where they have own interest then the global south is going to be left behind and therefore to carry the global out and incidentally I mean I just want to add here uh we may not really like the name of the non-aligned movement anymore but India

8:38 was in the forefront of the nonlander movement and the decolonization and the Namibians have not forgotten that swap was mentioned as anti-apathite but it is more really decolonization Namibia was a country which became a symbol all over the world of India's stand for anti apathide movement. We used to support ANC and PAC through Namibia. When our mission opened in Namibia, our material support went through Namibia. It was a very important outpost for our support to African organizations. So we need to move from that to really translating global south into an

9:25 effective player on the global scene for economic growth, economic development, transfer of technology, transfer of financing and developing an equitable trading regime. And unfortunately at the moment the way things are even though 10 years ago there was some hope of bringing this create trade equity economic equity to the world. Uh I think we are slowly losing hope and in that process uh very important visit to carry the global south with us particularly when we realize that there are competing interests from countries to our north other countries who are trying to get their attention. So we have to be there now to be able to carry on the

10:12 relationship in the larger global context also besides bilateral. Sure. How we can build momentum uh in further uh expanding uh the areas of cooperation is something that I'll uh get back to uh comments and perspective from professor Dubet. But ambassador what we also know is that twous were signed one on health and the other on entrepreneurship. What kind of impact do these agreements have then on the ground and h how do you you see them reflecting India's approach to development cooperation not just within this country but the larger continent very important I would say because India has come to be associated with meeting with the global disasters

10:58 internationally please do recall the support we have provided to Namibia during the covid times when We sent vaccines to Namibia and many other countries in Latin America and and Africa. So India becoming really the factory of pharmaceuticals. India was the first country besides the USA to come up with a vaccine in the international markets. So and that too at a very reasonable price. We gave it away without charging but it was something that uh people could afford to buy then. Therefore, healthcare, cancer care, uh co and entrepreneurship development is very important because I think the key issue for Namibia now is not just basically uh uh buying things

11:46 doing trade but to become an effective development partner. Namibians are ambitious. They want to develop their industrial way. They want to develop they want to process their own mineral. At the moment their revenue is from exporting these minerals right why shouldn't they be allowed to process them within the country. So entrepreneurship development develops that enterprise at the lowest root level of people just like about small scale and medium industries where they can become partner in the economic processes in the country. Uh yes, professor uh you understanding from uh you know uh the interventions that you made earlier and and from what ambassador is suggesting this visit in many ways we can say marks an inflection

12:32 point in India and Namibia relations both in symbolic as well as strategic terms. So what now should be our next steps to ensure that this momentum that's been created continues in areas like trade, digital cooperation also capacity building something that the prime minister mentioned areas like education and health. Yes, I think these are very important areas and India had been focusing in these area in most of the African country capacity building human resource development and these two agreements that we had MOU that we had are also part of that capacity building into the healthcare and also capacity building into the entrepreneurship development. uh but what is important that following

13:19 prime minister visit there are many other things that one needs to follow up. One is the critical mineral resources, the rare earth in which Namibia is one of the richest country in Africa and uh it has diamond, it has rare earth, it it has um uranium. So can we utilize our prime minister visit to Namibia to expand our economic cooperation in these areas? Second that our total trade with Africa which is around 100 billion is confined only to 10 countries which forms around 90% of India Africa trade countries like Namibia which a tremendous potential in many of these critical minerals and

14:06 resources we had not been focusing on. So it's time that we bring in other countries which are out of these 10 countries which form 90% of our trade with Africa. And third as you said initially the prime minister is saying that India has his own plan by 1947 uh by 2047 2047 it wants to become a big sit bharat and similarly the 2063 agenda that African Union has set for African country is something they want to achieve with cooperation of countries like India which has tremendous goodwill and whose resource es are important. It's a democratic country. Namibia is

14:52 also a democratic country and therefore this democratic ties um is going to help a lot in terms of promoting what is the agenda for Namibia. Right. Professor before before we uh proceed uh with how India can also align its vision 2047 with Africa strategy for 2063 something that I wanted to understand. This is one point that uh perhaps came up even when the two leaders of both countries met during the wide-ranging talks and this was about exploring newer avenues of cooperation. So despite the political goodwill despite the intent the numbers look quite modest when we look at the trade and commercial relations. So uh what what what are the main hurdles if I uh would like to try and understand from

15:39 you and now after this visit how can both sides put in more efforts to boost economic and private sector engagement professor? Yes, I think that's the the the trade figures are low. That's what the point I was also hinting at that out of 100 billion India Africa has very small contribution into that and and the fact that there is tremendous scope to at least in terms of value terms expand out it quite significantly because they they have very precious metals and resources which India can utilize. Now with China um controlling the supply of these minerals, India needs to find new

16:25 resources, new countries where from it can resource directly and Namibia is one of them with which we had direct uh cooperation but with visit prime minister it not as ambassador Goyel said it not only adds to global south initiative but also to get those resources that India very much needs and to promote this historically our relationship were confined largely to South Africa in the gold and other areas but and with Angola in terms of the aisle supply but Namibia had been not focused so far but with prime minister visiting over there the diamonds the rare resource their rare earth and

17:10 critical minerals will become a new item new areas for exploration and trading which will increase the bilateral trade as well. Certainly, ambassador. Uh coming now to the support for agenda 2063. The prime minister did reiterate India's commitment to building capacity and uh unequivocal support for Africa's development agenda for 2063. How can we align our own development projects or perhaps credit lines with uh specific goals which are outlined in agenda 2063 which include uh areas of infrastructure, digital innovation or uh also for that matter youth employment. Uh Tina uh you know uh I have been in

17:57 this business for more than 40 years now. Unfortunately, what we do is that when we develop our strategies for cooperation or the development partnership, we look at it in terms of really exclusive areas. Mhm. That Namibia want this and we want this and they don't ever match. Really, we need to develop a synergy where we can mutually benefit from those kind of cooperation projects. Now, I will I will give examples here. Uh I was in Johannesburg in uh 2008 to sorry 2000 199 uh 2006 to 2010. No 2002 to 2006. Okay. 2005 we began to

18:42 negotiate with South Africa a fair trade agreement and South Africa suggested that we should do it with SAKU rather than just South Africa because Saku was being formed and Saku would become a kind of an integrated body bringing together all the South African countries uh that is uh South of South Africa Botswana uh Namibia and I'm forgetting one more country into this union. That union would provide a kind of a common platform rather than just one country to grow the bilateral trade. 2006, today's 2045. Yes. More than 20 years. And the prime

19:28 minister is still today talking about finalizing the FDA between India and Saku. I mean, come on. 20 years is a long time. So I think we should really focus on those areas where we can strengthen their trade mechanism. Number one. Number two, Namibia is a very strong maritime nation. Namibia has very good maritime production. Uh blue economy. We should focus on the blue economy with Namibia. If you look at the western coast of Namibia, it's a huge resource. work together with them and also please remember that with the kind of uncertainties which exist in to the

20:13 north of Africa through the sway red sea etc etc most a lot of shipping is now taking place once again through the cape of good hope so that is one area where we can work together I'm going off the the the accepted beat really but we need to think of the areas where we can Find commonality of interest between India and Namibia rather than exclusivity. Agriculture is another one. Developing processing base in Namibia. Developing industry in Namibia. Why can't we establish a university or IIT in Namibia? Most of many Namibians come to India under IT and the ICC scholarship program to study in the Indian institutes. Let us form an IIT in

21:01 Nibbia where countries people from the surrounding countries can come. Look the huge potential. We have to really think out of the box. Certainly and and we do see that efforts have been made even during this visit uh by the diplomatic delegation to expedite the discussions on the India Saku PTA. At the same time, the prime minister also has offered India's support for quick impact development projects. something that ambassador you mentioned in the areas of agriculture it includes information technology as well cyber security healthcare education and so on but what what's interesting is that Namibia has also become the first country to now enter into a licensing agreement to adopt the UPI technology professor how significant is that going

21:46 to be today it's Namibia tomorrow it may be several other countries in Africa and it it it uh in a way reflects how India is willing to share different success success stories such as that of uh UPI, such as that of DPI, something that has worked for the Indian population but that development now percolating and we we are sharing with countries in Africa. Yes, absolutely. The fact that we are sharing and I'm accepted, it also shows that there is a great potential for these kind of digital economy, these kind of digital transactions and uh India is going to um work in these area in many countries in in Africa and other developing countries. Also the fact that

22:33 you mentions that the Namibia is and Ambassador Goyel also said that the kind of um issues that we have in terms of negotiating with the regional blocks. You know now the buzzword is not the regional grouping but now we have Africa free trade zone. So entire Africa had now signed together to have a a common tariff jone and common trading area and India needs to work on that very significantly. It's located its headquarter is located in Ghana where prime minister visited in this visit also. So I think uh India has to work strategically in South Africa is a very

23:20 friendly country but also for India if you just see the historical side of it it has a competitive relationship as well entire southern Africa where where we want to expand our trade is part of the South Africa monopoly of its supply for manufacturers and household goods where it doesn't want a country like India to come so aggressively and share the market where it has monopoly. So why we had not been making much progress in these area is understandable and it's fair enough. They they have their own interest. So um but some of these rare earth critical minerals uh are important for us and I think we need to move in these area and I don't think we have

24:06 competition even from South Africa. Perhaps the the the groundwork has been done through this visit because uh in many ways we are seeing a more active more confident approach uh that India has now adopted in dealing with countries in Africa. Uh ambassador one critical aspect when it comes to India Namibia uh relationship is the cheetah conservation project. It it's often been highlighted as a very unique India and Namibia collaboration. But beyond the cheetah project, uh could wildlife conservation or or a larger cooperation in the area of environment become a long-term area of joint leadership between India and Namibia, perhaps even with the global south. Uh absolutely. Uh I have found that

24:55 countries in Africa whether it is Kenya Masah is a great example of how they develop their Masai Mara is a great example of how they develop their own wildlife resources for tourism and for overall conservation effect. Uh Kenya, Tanzania, everywhere. uh I do feel maybe I'm wrong but I do feel that India and these countries in Africa they look at wildlife conservation from different perspectives we kind of separate the human population from the wildlife etc. In African countries the human population is very much a part of the

25:41 development strategy. Mhm. They live there. They breed the they breed the animals and they basically understand the animals much better. And therefore I think there is a there are many lessons we can learn in terms of how to deal with our own wildlife conservation programs and India and African countries particularly Namibia can work together really I I'll give you an example. uh in Namibia when I was there I had gone on a boat and they they called the seal tours and the seals become so friendly to the tourists they jump over to the boats they eat fish go away and no harm ever comes to them really nobody does anything I think we should try and see how people and

26:26 animals can live in a friendly or cohabit a friendly environment great scope for cooperation in that area Perhaps we could see further cooperation uh uh being being expanded in the times to come. But uh professor uh uh the prime minister also put people of both countries at the heart of diplomacy. He said uh uh the people of both countries are the the most strong pillar of our relationship with Namibia. So what more can be done in the times to come uh to bring the people of both countries more closer especially the youth? uh how can it be done through education through maybe culture or areas of innovation that there are several programs underway about which the ambassador did refer to

27:12 but to have more substantial outcomes to strengthen the India and Namibia ties. I think what prime minister announced in Ghana, we need to do something with Namibia also. We need to increase the slots for itch. We need to increase the fellowship for Namibian students to come and study here. We need to promote multistakeholders engagement not just business diplomats but also um civil society. Both countries are very democratic. They have since they have uninterrupted democracy since independence and we in order to promote um people-to-people relations we have to promote this cultural relation youth relation by

27:57 exchange of visits inviting them have a cultural center over there I think there are several things which government will do once it decided to engage Namibia in a serious way. Okay, Ambazda, the closing comments from you perhaps on how to take this relationship forward. The momentum perhaps uh has been set but the ball needs to go rolling for tangible outcomes when we say deepening India and Namibia ties and in the larger picture deepening India Africa ties. Uh what is the top priority in terms of uh uh India's approach economically, strategically, diplomatically? Uh I think the details have been already discussed. Therefore, I will basically just say one overarching comment.

28:42 Yes, I have served in two uh developing countries or least developed economies or close to them. Uh I've served in Africa. I've served in Southeast Asia in Laos. India during my time was a highly respected country because India was partnership in their independence movement in their movement for dignity human dignity that is what they're looking for not just independence uh in Laos India was looked at a as a as a guru a spiritual guru Namibia India was looked as a beacon we are losing that space now to another competitor We must try and do something and there

29:30 is plenty to do. Make them partner, development partner, become partner in their own aspirations, encourage them and so that we can get back to the space which we are slowly losing and could lose further unless we really wake up to this friendship. Sure. With that message, we'll have to wrap up the conversation. What we've discussed by far in the program is that both India and Namibia through this visit of the prime minister which came at the prime ministerial level after a gap of 27 years and interestingly it was also the first state visit uh that the Namibian president hosted because she's just taken over in March. She's assumed office and this was the first state visit that she had also hosted. Uh during this visit the prime minister uh

30:16 not just engaged with the Indian diaspora he also held a wide-ranging talks with the new president the first female president of Namibia he also addressed uh the the parliament of Namibia and at the same time he was conferred with the top civilian honor of the country. So all in all what it suggests is that both countries have opened a new chapter in their historic ties. The road ahead also looks rich with potential for cooperation uh for people as uh both our guests have also suggested but also for the larger promise of a truly global south future. So let's hope that uh tangible outcomes emerge from this visit of the prime minister and what we've discussed in terms of achieving in terms of where

31:03 this uh uh relationship can further elevate to that happens in the next few years. the road map has been laid down. It's just that implementation needs to be done. With that, we'll have to wind up the conversation. Once again, a big thank you to both our guests and thank you very much to you viewers as well for your time. [Music] To watch more programs of Sunset TV, subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't forget to like and share them.