Looking back on my first six months in Windhoek

It is incredible to believe that I have now been in Namibia for six months. The time has flown by and it has really been a wonderful experience.

The world has seen an extraordinary number of things happen on the international playing field in 2011: uprisings in north Africa, numerous natural disasters, some significant deaths and economic crises.

But this is also the time of year where it is helpful to look back to see what has been achieved – on a more local level – before looking ahead to the year to come (next blog!)

Here in Namibia, I am pleased to say that UK-Namibian relations have been significantly strengthened on the back of President Pohamba’s major trade visit to London in June and his second call on Her Majesty the Queen, as well as the Duke of York and a range of British ministers.

This was followed up by a significant 3-day bilateral ministerial visit to Namibia by the UK’s Minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham, in November.  The minister was able to meet with the Prime Minister, and a range of other cabinet officials, including the Ministers for Education, Safety & Security, and Deputy Foreign Minister and PS of Mines & Energy. He was also able to launch a new British Business Group together with the Minister of Trade & Investment and DG of the National Planning Commission, marking a significant milestone in our burgeoning trade relations.

But, away from pure politics and the business of bolstering bilateral relations, I have also had a lot of fun in getting to know this fantastic country and its people and culture. I am incredibly grateful for the warm welcome I have received and to discover just how many UK-Namibian links already exist. Keep notifying me of new ones.

I thought I should end off by listing some of the more personal (and less official) highlights of my first six months here that stand out:

– Celebrating the One Year to Go to the London 2012 Olympics with the Namibian National Olympic Committee and Namibian sporting superstar Frank Fredericks and local sportsmen and women in August : we all have high hopes for Namibia’s new generation of young sporting men and women at the Games next year

– Visiting UK Aid funded transboundary river basin project sites up on the border with Angola during my familiarisation trip to the north around Oshakati: a great sign of regional and donor cooperation in action and what a fascinating region

– Learning sign language with the wonderful deaf children at CLaSH’s kindergarten in Khomasdal during the handing over of British High Commission-funded toys and equipment

– Getting to know my fantastic Namibian colleagues at the British High Commission in Windhoek and learning all about their different cultural backgrounds: our 19 Namibian staff members represent some 12 different ethnic groups- Presenting my first cup for a cow (the Queen’s Cup) to the owners of a magnificent heifer at this year’s Windhoek Show: I promised to brush up on my livestock conversation before next year’s show…

– Learning how to say ‘braai’ instead of ‘BBQ;, ‘lekker’ instead of ‘great’ and being instructed on the way to make perfect pap (it involves a lot of energetic stirring)

– Climbing to the top of Dune 7 outside Walvis Bay – and running down again (in one piece)

The list could go on and on. I will leave off here – but I would be delighted to hear more about your own UK-Namibian experiences. I will share my plans for 2012 in the New Year.

In the meantime, I would like to thank everyone who has supported UK-Namibian relations in whatever capacity this year. We should all feel proud of what has been accomplished and I look forward to meeting and working with many more of you in the years to come.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year until 2012!