Pretoria - International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has arrived in Windhoek, Namibia, her department said on Wednesday.
She is expected to co-chair the inaugural session of the Bi-National Commission (BNC) between South Africa and Namibia with her counterpart Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah ahead of the state visit by President Jacob Zuma on Thursday.
The BNC will serve as an important tool for strengthening and enhancing cooperation between South Africa and Namibia.
“The BNC, it is expected that the two delegations will review and strengthen bilateral cooperation and partnerships. Multilateral cooperation and other issues of mutual interest are also expected to be discussed,” Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela said.
South Africa is the destination of 66% of Namibia's exports and holds approximately 80% of investments in key sectors of Namibia's economy such as mining, retail, banking and insurance.
Namibia is one of the eight leading tourist markets for South Africa in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, with more than 200 000 tourists visiting each year.
The highest proportion of SADC tourists to South Africa on business in 2012 came from Namibia (25.9%).
South Africa and Namibia currently cooperate in various fields, including environment, in particular trans-frontier parks, marine and coastal management, transport, energy, science and technology, trade and industry, spatial development initiatives, defence and security, agriculture and issues relating to regional integration.
A number of South African companies are involved in Namibia in a variety of sectors including mining, retail, food and beverages, hotels and leisure, banking and health.-SAnews.gov.za
