Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday urged Namibia to increase its cooperation with New Delhi at a time when the world is witnessing global challenges.
Jaishankar's comments about Namibia partnering with India on the global stage came during the 1st India-Namibia Joint Commission talks with his Namibian counterpart Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah in Windhoek.
In his meeting with Nandi-Ndaitwah, Jaishankar presented a roadmap of India's growing bilateral ties with Namibia, encompassing several areas of wildlife conservation, defense, energy, infrastructure, health, culture, trade and investment, digital, and food security.
The Indian FM stated that the people of India have a deep-rooted connection with Namibia.
"And that is because we supported Namibia's independence and we were very pleased to see Namibia take its rightful place in the comity of nations and become a proud upholder of international order," Jaishankar said.
India's top diplomat added that New Delhi and Windhoek cannot remain unmindful of the social, and economic challenges and the geopolitical situation prevailing in the world.
"The health, economic and social challenges posed by the post-pandemic combined with the debt crises with high-interest rates, tensed geopolitical situations, besides the ecological, economic and social costs of climate change. I think these have all combined today to really create a very challenging international situation," Jaishankar elaborated.
"So this is a time, of course for countries like us to work together, to think together, to cooperate on the international stage," he noted.
Jaishankar also spoke about the relocation of Namibian Cheetahs to India, which according to him, was a "big step" toward the establishment of strong bilateral ties between the two nations.
"This, in fact, is a very big step, because it is the first programme for the re-introduction of a large carnivore anywhere in the world. So it has wildlife and environmental implications, but it also has a direct contribution to make to the growth of tourism. And I certainly hope that our cooperation in these areas will continue to grow," Jaishankar asserted.
In his concluding remarks, the minister said that he was confident that New Delhi's partnership with Namibia was "entering a new era" and he would like to contribute in every manner possible to achieve this.