Ghana-Namibia Association Launched

Ghana and Namibia, on Wednesday, launched a Friendship Association to help deepen ties between the two countries.

The Namibian High Commissioner to Ghana, His Excellency Charles Josob, speaking at the launch of the Association, said the two countries have had a long history of friendship and the creation of the Ghana-Namibia Friendship Association only formalizes an already existing companionship.

According to him, Namibia had a lot of assistance from the international community in the lead up to their independence in 1990 and Ghana has since remained an ally.

The High Commissioner expressed his country's appreciation to Ghana for the numerous collaborations the latter has undertaken with Namibia.

He mentioned, among many other things, how Namibian students trained in Ghana and how their security agencies keep benefiting from Ghana's expertise through these collaborations.

Charles Josob was optimistic that the launch of the Association will foster an even deeper partnership and contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of both countries.

He added that since their independence from South Africa, the assistance received prior to the birth of the country has made them naturally hospitable people.

Former President Jerry Rawlings who launched the Association noted the fact that more Namibians were travelling to Ghana to do business and visit tourist sites in recent years.

He however encouraged Ghana to learn from Namibia's strides in developing a viable tourism development framework that has helped them build a thriving tourism industry which is a major revenue earner and one of the best on the continent.

The former president was full of praise for the Namibian High Commission for its vision in mooting the idea of the Friendship Association and seeing to its successful execution.

He charged the leadership of the Association to be innovative and work to ensure the realization of its objectives.

A deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Mohammed Habib Tijani, who was also present at the event, lauded the initiative and suggested that the Association should work to encourage cultural exchanges and interaction between the peoples of the two countries to help promote trade and integration.

Chairman of the Ghana-Namibia Friendship Association, Haruna Atta, Ghana's immediate past High Commissioner to Namibia described the already existing friendship between the two countries as very cordial.

Namibia officially established their mission in Ghana some three years ago. Namibia has a population of about 2.4 million people and a stable multi-party parliamentary democracy.