9th November 2012 Windhoek, Namibia
Guest blog by Simon Atkinson, Deputy High Commissioner to Namibia, (based in Cape Town)
As you may remember, though I’m based at the Consulate-General in Cape Town, I’m also accredited as the Deputy High Commissioner in Namibia (to support our team there). The historic visit this week by Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba to South Africa presented me with a rare chance to mix the two roles.
On Tuesday (6 November) I attended the President’s address to South Africa’s Parliament. It was received with thunderous applause from the South African MPs. Unsurprising perhaps, given some of the poignancy behind what he said: the President never imagined that he would see a free South Africa or an independent Namibia in his lifetime, let alone have the opportunity to address South Africa’s Parliament (Namibia only gained its independence from South Africa in 1990). A reminder of the shared, dramatic, recent history of the two countries.
In general, the visit seemed to go very well. President Pohamba and President Zuma signed several agreements between the two countries, including cooperation on infrastructure and public works. They also spoke about other issues close to all our hearts, including reform of international organisations. But what caught my eye the most was the talk on closer African integration, including a Free Trade Area.
In the time I’ve spent in both countries, I’ve heard much about the commonalities between them, but also about barriers to regional trade: not only between South Africa and Namibia, but extending across the region in general. Simply put, presumably the more that can be done to dismantle these barriers, the better off the region as a whole will become? If so, then hopefully President Pohamba’s visit, and the recent election of former South African Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma as AU Commission Chairperson, will continue the progress towards making aspirations such as a Free Trade Area become a reality.