Royal British Navy Frigate HMS Argyll served as a fantastic platform to showcase the best of British commercial interests in Namibia this week in Walvis Bay. The 133m long vessel, complete with Lynx helicopter and 200-strong crew, spent 3 days berthed at the country’s port.
I was delighted to join the Governor of Erongo Region, Deputy Mayor of Walvis and head of Rolls Royce Marine in Namibia at the Captain’s table for a special lunch to discuss ways of further cementing UK-Namibia links on Monday. Commander Tim Neild also hosted a terrific reception on board that night to promote our burgeoning business links with Namibia.
British firms present in the country – including Tullow Oil, Rolls Royce Marine, Weatherley Mining, Aggreko and Serica Oil & Gas – displayed company materials and banners to emphasise their strong commitment to the mining, oil and gas, marine services and energy sectors.
Commander Neild was able to explain to assembled guests more about the ship’s current mission to West Africa to help improve marine security capabilities down the coast. This year, HMS Argyll participated in Exercise Sahara Express, a land and sea-based international exercise involving participants from 14 nations to improve inter-operability among international partners.
Whilst in Walvis Bay, Commander Neild joined me to meet with the head of the Namibian Navy to further cement our already strong military links and share experiences.
The ship’s crew had also been put to good use the day before to help paint a local animal shelter with children from the town – and valiantly fought through an unexpected sand storm to play football against the Namibian Navy. (Naturally, I attributed their 3-1 loss to the local adverse weather conditions.)
The visit was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate in a very tangible way that the UK is fully committed to support our partner nations in efforts to enhance maritime security, stability and prosperity. It was good to add some community outreach and sporting activities to the programme and give the crew a chance to savour some well deserved Namibian desert fun and fare.
I am very grateful to all officials, business and diplomatic representatives and executives who attended the august business promotion reception on Monday night – and would like to register a big thank you to the captain and crew for hosting such a beneficial event. We were all treated to a healthy dose of British pomp and circumstance as well as updates on all our Prosperity and trade work in country.
If you couldn’t make it to the coast – do enjoy the photos on our UKinNamibia Facebook special album and read more about our commercial and trade successes in my speech