With human resource development, capacity-building and educational exchanges being areas that have been prioritised in bilateral relations, India’s flagship programmes like Skill India, Make in India, Digital India and 100 Smart Cities could be successful models in Namibia as well, President Pranab Mukherjee told the Namibian academia on Friday.
In his address at the Namibia University of Science and Technology on the concluding day of his six-day tour to three African countries, Mukherjee said India remained committed to partnering with Namibia as its people pursued their developmental goals and national aspirations embodied in Namibian government’s Vision 2030 and the Harambee Prosperity Plan.
Observing that Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth, the President said that their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of Namibia’s mining sector. India’s public and private enterprises are ready to join Namibian endeavours in this direction and in the sphere of bilateral trade and investment, the fruitful economic exchanges between the two countries underscore the much larger potential that is waiting to be realised, he added.
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Mukherjee told the university’s faculty and students that India has already announced a total of 50,000 scholarships and fellowships for African participants over a period of 5 years till 2020. Lines of credit worth $10 billion for Africa to be used over the same for implementation of projects agreed with the African Union, Regional Economic Communities and individual countries have also been agree upon in addition to projects valued at $600 million under grants-in-aid for human resource development, infrastructure and institution building in Africa, he added
Earlier, Mukherjee paid homage to Namibia’s martyrs at the Heroes’ Acre war memorial near the Capital. He laid a wreath at the memorial and was briefed on its history and significance by accompanying officials.
The Tribuno
