Namibia Embassy Berlin -
Regierungsmitteilungen
Namibia Conference discussed enhancing resilience to drought in Africa
From crisis response towards strategic and sustainable approach
18 August 2016, Windhoek - A first African Drought Conference was held under the auspices of the African Union in Windhoek, Namibia, from 15-18 August, as a follow-up to the High-level Meeting on National Drought Policies (HMNDP), organized by FAO, WMO and UNCCD Secretariat, in 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland.It shed the spotlight on the necessity for Africa to place a “Strategic Framework for Drought Risk Management and Enhancing Resilience in Africa” high on its development agenda.
The conference was organized by the Government of Namibia and UNCCD Secretariat, with FAO’s support, and attended by over 300 participants, including country delegates, regional economic groups as well as development organizations and financing agencies.
In a speech read on behalf of the Director-General of FAO, José Graziano da Silva, FAO Representative in Namibia, Mr Babagana Ahmadu, warned of dire consequences if Africa failed to be proactive in drought management, adding that “failure to adopt proactive drought risk management policies would jeopardize our efforts to meet the challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Malabo Commitments.” Please, click here to continue reading....
The African Drought Conference hosted by the government of Namibia ended with adaption of “The Windhoek Declaration for Enhancing Resilience to Drought in Africa” on 19 August. The declaration states the commitments to implement the Strategic Framework for Drought Risk Management and Enhancing Resilience in Africa; to establish a continent-wide African Network with national institutions for Drought Monitoring and Early Warning Systems; and to convene biennial African Drought Conference to be held concurrently with the African Drylands Week to consider progress of the implementation of the Strategy adopted in Windhoek in August 2016, in order to promote investment among others.
The week-long Foreign Policy Review Conference came to an end at the Namibia Institute of Public Administration and Management (NIPAM) on Friday, 29 July 2016, with the closing remarks by H.E Dr Nicky Iyambo, Vice President of the Republic of Namibia (left and below). 
Hon Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (MIRCO); seated on the right next to H.E. Dr Iyambo : Ms Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, Permanent Secretary MIRCO; below: H.E. Dr Iyambo, Hon Nandi-Ndaitwah and PS Ashipala-Musavyi inspecting the foreign-policy exhibition.
Statement by H.E. Dr. Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia at the official opening of the International Relations and Cooperation Policy Review Conference
photo left: H.E. Dr. Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Inernational Relations and Cooperation, Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (Please click on the photos to enlarge the picture)
(...),
Welcome to this “foreign policy” review conference. As you might be aware one of the first changes made when I became President, was to rename our Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation. This was done to reflect the dynamics of the changing world order and modern day diplomacy.
We live in a globalized world where we need to hold hands across countries and continents to ensure the ecological survival of our planet and of human kind. We may speak different languages, have different religions, and different colors, but at the end of the day, we are all human beings. We, therefore, no longer speak of foreign affairs, but of international relationships, cooperation and partnerships in charting common developmental paths. Consistent with that change I will, henceforth, refer to the exercise to be undertaken this week as a review of Namibia’s Policy on International Relations and Cooperation and not foreign policy review.
Click here to continue reading the speech in a pdf format...
Poverty eradication needs multi-faceted approach – Geingob
New Era, July 13, 2015
President Hage Geingob last week said the war the government has declared against poverty must include a multi-faceted approach from all sectors of society. “We have a new ministry and we have a new approach. We will soon invite all social organisations to a dialogue so that we can all come together to help [work on] a national roadmap on the way forward,” Geingob told a delegation from the Ecumenical Social Diaconate Action (ESDA) group.
Speaking after the presentation of a roadmap by the ESDA to complement national initiatives, Geingob said he was impressed by what the organisation stood for. ESDA operates as a welfare organisation under the wings of Friendly Haven, which operates as a shelter where battered women and children seek a place of safety from all sorts of abuse. The organisation was established in 1995 by Reverend Ngeno Nakamela in response to many women and children being abused and battered. A steady stream of women and children have passed through the shelter’s doors seeking protection from abuse especially domestic violence and rape. From 2002 to 2014, an astonishing 1 750 people were taken in of whom 980 were children and 770 women.
The centre is supported by six government ministeries as well as international and local donors. Click here to read more....
(...) Section thirty-two (32), subsection two (2) of the Namibian Constitution places the President under the obligation to annually “address Parliament on the state of the nation and on the future policies of Government... and report on the policies of the previous year and... be available to respond to all questions.” I delivered my first State of the Nation Address on the 21st of April 2015. I am here today to account to you and the Nation at large on progress made since then and to release the Harambee Prosperity Plan that outlines our future policies over the next four years.
Honourable Speaker, Honourable Chairperson,
Idowu Koyenikan once said, “Your pride for your country should not come after your country becomes great; your country becomes great because of your pride in it.” Having entered into our 26th year of Independence, we bear witness to this notion. I stand before you today to proclaim that the Namibian House is in great shape. The State of the Nation is sound. Let our national pride continue driving us towards the full realization of our dream, One Namibia, One Nation.
We have developed the Harambee Prosperity Plan as the implementation roadmap to fast-track the achievement of our development goals. The Prosperity mandate will not be easy, but, with all Namibians working together in the spirit of Harambee, it is possible.
Click here to open the State of the Nation Address as pdf....
