Pretoria - South African and Namibian leaders have urged the various committees under the South Africa-Namibia Bi-National Commission (BNC) to meet regularly and expedite the implementation of strategic projects.
The BNC is divided into four sectoral committees in the various sectors of cooperation, which implement projects aimed at sustainable development and the well-being of the people of the two countries.
These committees are the Diplomatic Committee, Economic Committee, Social Committee and Defence and Security Committee.
The call from leaders emerged on Friday at the end of the 2nd Session of the BNC, which was held in Pretoria.
The session was overseen by President Jacob Zuma and President Hage Geingob of Namibia.
During the official talks, the two Heads of State reviewed a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues.
They expressed satisfaction at the strong bilateral relations existing between the two countries, which are informed by historical, political, economic, social and cultural ties.
“The two leaders noted with appreciation the expansive nature of the bilateral cooperation which includes, among others, trade and investment, energy, agriculture, tourism, infrastructure development, mining, defence and security, immigration, environment, transport and communications,” said a communique issued at the end of the session.
During the official talks, a Memorandum of Understanding on Higher Education was finalised.
The BNC has directed the Ministers of Higher Education to sign this MoU at their earliest convenience. The signing of this agreement will bring the total number of agreements between the neighbours to 72.
In their opening addresses, both Presidents called for increased intra-African trade in order to stimulate economic growth.
President Zuma said the two countries need to prioritise economic cooperation, focusing on projects that are consistent with the SADC Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Southern African Customs Union transformation agenda.
President Geingob called for the building of win-win partnerships between SA and Namibia as neighbours, as friends and as Africans.
On continental issues, the BNC exchanged views on the political and security developments as well as the consideration of democracy in the region.
They reaffirmed their commitment to working together in pursuit of sustainable peace and stability in the region.
“Furthermore, they expressed their concern on the continuing peace and security challenges in the continent, particularly the emergence of extremism and terrorism, and highlighted the need for coordinated and collaborative continental efforts to deal with these challenges,” the communique said.
On the multilateral front, the BNC reaffirmed commitment to the United Nations Agenda 2030 and reiterated the common view on the need to reform the United Nations Security Council and other multilateral institutions to better represent the interests of the developing countries.
In this regard, they agreed to coordinate positions at multilateral fora.
The 3rd Session of the BNC will be held in Namibia in 2017. - SAnews.gov.za
