{"id":66093,"date":"2016-03-16T12:59:53","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T10:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/germany-and-namibia-celebrate-26-years-of-cooperation\/"},"modified":"2016-03-16T12:59:53","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T10:59:53","slug":"germany-and-namibia-celebrate-26-years-of-cooperation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/germany-and-namibia-celebrate-26-years-of-cooperation\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany and Namibia Celebrate 26 Years of Cooperation"},"content":{"rendered":"

ABIDJAN, Namibia, March 16, 2016\/APO (African Press Organization)\/ — <\/span><\/p>\n

On Independence Day on 21 March 2016, Germany and Namibia are celebrating 26 years of\u00a0cooperation.<\/p>\n

Since Namibia\u2019s independence in 1990, relations with Germany have been particularly intensive,\u00a0due to:<\/p>\n

\u2022 the shared history of the colonial period (1884-1915) and Germany\u2019s resulting special historical\u00a0and political responsibility,<\/p>\n

\u2022 Germany\u2018s active diplomatic support for Namibia\u2019s independence as part of the Contact Group in\u00a0the framework of the United Nations in the 70\u2019s and 80\u2019s<\/p>\n

\u2022 close cultural links to the German-speaking community and<\/p>\n

\u2022 26 years of sustainable and substantial bilateral development cooperation reaching more than 800\u00a0million euros, the highest per-capita development cooperation in Africa.<\/p>\n

Crucial for Germany\u2019s policy towards Namibia was the Resolution of the German Bundestag of\u00a01989 establishing Germany\u2019s special historical and political responsibility for Namibia. In another\u00a0resolution of 2004 the German Bundestag remembered the victims of the colonial war of 1904-\u00a01907\/8 and reaffirmed its determination to deepen the good bilateral relations. In 2007 then Speaker\u00a0of the National Assembly Gurirab visited Berlin, followed by several visits to Germany by his\u00a0successor Katjavivi up until 2015. In March 2013 the Namibian-German Friendship Group and in\u00a0November 2015 the Standing Committee on Economics, Natural Resources and Public\u00a0Administration of the National Assembly visited Germany as well. In June 2015, the SADC\u00a0Parliamentary Group of the German Parliament reciprocated, preceded by a visit of the Sports\u00a0Committee of the German Bundestag in October 2014. In 2008 and 2015, the President of the\u00a0German Bundestag Norbert Lammert came to Namibia.<\/p>\n

The German-Namibian special relationship has manifested itself in many high-ranking visits on the\u00a0government level as well: The visits to Namibia by German Federal Chancellor Kohl in 1995 and of\u00a0German Federal President Herzog in 1998 as well as the visits to Germany by President Nujoma in\u00a01996 and 2002 and by President Pohamba in 2005 deserve special mention. Former Federal\u00a0President K\u00f6hler represented Germany at the 25th Anniversary of Namibia\u2019s Independence and the\u00a0inauguration of President Geingob in 2015.<\/p>\n

In 2003 then German Foreign Minister Fischer visited Namibia. In Januar 2013, Namibian Foreign\u00a0Minister Nandi-Ndaitwah held talks in Berlin with then Foreign Minister Westerwelle and then\u00a0Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Niebel. In Juni 2014 she met present\u00a0German Foreign Minister Steinmeier in Berlin.<\/p>\n

Then Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Wieczorek-Zeul participated in\u00a0the central commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the colonial war in what was then German\u00a0South West Africa. Her successor Niebel visited Namibia in 2010, 2011 and 2013. In April 2012\u00a0then German Federal Minister of Education and Science Schavan came to Namibia to witness the\u00a0launch of the “Southern African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adaptive Land\u00a0Management” (SASSCAL) in Windhoek.<\/p>\n

Similar contacts exist on the regional and local level. Examples are the twinning agreements\u00a0between the State of Bremen and Namibia or between Windhoek and Berlin, Bremen and\u00a0Trossingen as well as between Halle and L\u00fcderitzbucht. Intensive contacts exist between church\u00a0groups, NGO\u2019s and academics of both countries as well: In the framework of around 45 university\u00a0partnership agreements, 142 students came from Germany to Namibia last year while 86 students\u00a0from Namibia went to Germany.<\/p>\n

In November 2015, the two governments appointed special envoys to spearhead the German-\u00a0Namibian dialogue, Ruprecht Polenz for Germany and Dr. Zed Ngavirue for Namibia.<\/p>\n

Economic Relations<\/p>\n

Bilateral trade between Germany and Namibia was 274 million euros in 2014 (imports from\u00a0Namibia: almost 155 million euros, exports to Namibia: around 119 million euros). Main imports\u00a0from Namibia are non-ferrous metals and other raw materials as well as foodstuffs. Main exports to\u00a0Namibia are machinery and food items.<\/p>\n

In the service sector, tourism is an important export earner: The almost 90,000 German visitors\u00a0every year are by far the largest group of non-African tourists in Namibia.<\/p>\n

One of the largest foreign investments in Namibia comes from Germany: In February 2011\u00a0“Ohorongo Cement” started its operations in the presence of both the President of the Republic and\u00a0the Prime Minister. Schwenk Zement from Ulm in Germany is the majority shareholder. More than\u00a0250 millionen euros have been invested so far. The company is creating 300 jobs directly and\u00a0another 2000 indirectly in the region. With a capacity of 700,000 tons per year the plant is projected\u00a0to supply other markets in Southern Africa as well. The investment stock of German companies in\u00a0Namibia stands currently at almost 90 million euros.<\/p>\n

Both governments aspire to expand the economic relations. For this purpose, a high-ranking\u00a0Namibian delegation headed by Minister in the Presidency in charge of Economic Planning and\u00a0Planning Commission Alweendo visited Germany in June 2015 and the Parliamentary State\u00a0Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Zypries came to Namibia in July\u00a02015. Germany and Namibia have concluded both an investment protection and a double taxation\u00a0agreement.<\/p>\n

Development Cooperation<\/p>\n

The bilateral development cooperation is an integral part and fundamental pillar of the special\u00a0relationship between Namibia and Germany: Since 1990, more than 800 million euros of public\u00a0funds have been made available for this purpose. This publicly funded development cooperation is\u00a0complemented by a variety of private initiatives and activities of non-government organisations.<\/p>\n

Germany and Namibia are working together in three priority areas:<\/p>\n

– management of natural resources,<\/p>\n

– transport and<\/p>\n

– sustainable economic development.<\/p>\n

An important component in our cooperation in all three areas is technical and vocational education\u00a0and training. Here we work closely together with the University of Namibia (UNAM) and the\u00a0Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) in the fields of road construction, logistics\u00a0and environmental science and with the “Namibia Training Authority” (NTA) in road construction\u00a0and agriculture. As HIV\/AIDS continues to jeopardise the social and economic development of the\u00a0country at all levels, German development cooperation has supported the HIV\/AIDS prevention\u00a0efforts of its partners in the priority areas. Additional funds have been made available through the\u00a0“Initiative for Climate and Environmental Protection” for the promotion of renewable energy. Since<\/p>\n

\n

2008, the German Governemnt has also supported through the “International Climate Protection\u00a0Initiative” climate projects in developing countries and countries in transition including in Namibia.<\/p>\n

In the framework of the Namibian-German Special Initiative, the German Government has\u00a0supported communal development measures in those parts of the country most affected by\u00a0colonialism. In 2012, the Namibian-German Special Initiative was expanded from 20 to 31 million\u00a0euros. The projects are selected in close consultations with the affected communities and\u00a0implemented by the National Planning Commission.<\/p>\n

During the Negotiations on Development Cooperation held between the Government of the\u00a0Republic of Namibia and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on 1 and 2 October\u00a02015 in Berlin, the German Government committed funding to Namibia amounting to 71.9 million\u00a0euros (around 1.3 billion NAD) in grant financing covering the period 2015 and 2016.<\/p>\n

Cultural Relations<\/p>\n

German-Namibian cultural relations are based on the bilateral Agreement Concerning Cultural\u00a0Cooperation of 1991. Together with an acoompanying exchange of verbal notes, it constitutes the\u00a0legal basis for the activities of the Goethe-Institut, the Deutsche H\u00f6here Privatschule Windhuk\u00a0(DHPS) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Namibia and regulates the status\u00a0of their staff.<\/p>\n

The German-speaking community is recognized as one of Namibia’s several linguistic and cultural\u00a0groups. The German language is very present in Namibia, starting from the German-language\u00a0newspaper “Allgemeinen Zeitung”, the German service of NBC Radio and private radio stations\u00a0like “Hit-Radio” but also in tourism and other sectors of the Namibian economy.<\/p>\n

Celebrating 25 years since Namibia gained its independence, 25 years since the end of the division\u00a0of Germany and 25 years of German-Namibian diplomatic relations, the German Embassy in\u00a0cooperation with its partners from the cultural, political, economic, academic and development\u00a0cooperation spheres, presented \u2018German Weeks 2015 in Namibia\u2019 from 2 March until 17 July, 2015\u00a0die \u201eDeutschen Wochen 2015 in Namibia\u201c featuring more than 50 events in various parts of the\u00a0country offering a broad spectrum of activities.<\/p>\n

Goethe-Institut<\/p>\n

On 1 January 2016, the Goethe-Institut started operations in Windhoek in the Erstorff Building from\u00a0which the erstwhile Goethe-Centre used to operate The Goethe-Institut offers German language\u00a0courses that are frequented by more than 500 learners every year. Afrikaans and Oshivambo courses\u00a0are offered as well.<\/p>\n

Deutsche H\u00f6here Privatschule Windhuk (DHPS)<\/p>\n

The DHPS has existed for over one hundred years. It is a bilingual school frequented by Germans\u00a0and Namibians alike. Almost 600 out of more than 1200 students have another native language but\u00a0German. Thus the DHPS reflects the linguistic and cultural diversity of Namibia. After 12 years it\u00a0leads to either the NSSC (plus the DSD II German language exam) or to the German DIAP degree.\u00a0In 2011 it received a certificate of excellence as one of the best German schools in the world. The\u00a0DHPS is subsidized by the German Foreign Office to the tune of 734,000 euros per year and 17\u00a0teachers are seconded from Germany.<\/p>\n

German Language<\/p>\n

Almost 8000 students learn German as a foreign language at 52 schools throughout Namibia. In\u00a0addition, more than 1300 native speakers are taught in their maternal language. In this context,<\/p>\n

Germany is offering:<\/p>\n

\u2022 pedagogic support for German-language teachers through the Goethe-Institut<\/p>\n

\u2022 seconded teachers to the Namib High School Swakopmund and the Delta Secondary School\u00a0Windhoek<\/p>\n

\u2022 additional support to five schools \u2013 DHPS, Martin Luther High School Okombahe, Namib High\u00a0School Swakopmund, Delta Secondary School Windhoek and Windhoek High School \u2013 through the\u00a0international network of partner schools \u201ePASCH\u201c<\/p>\n

\u2022 co-funding of student exchanges and scholarships<\/p>\n

\u2022 advice to the German Department of UNAM through two representatives of the German\u00a0Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) based in Namibia<\/p>\n

\u2022 training and content provided through Deutschen Welle, the German public broadcasting\u00a0company, for the German service of NBC.\u00a0Academic Exchange<\/p>\n

Since 2004, the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, together with UNAM and\u00a0several European partners, has run the “H.E.S.S.\u201c for research into high-energy cosmic radiation in\u00a0the Khomas Mountains. In September 2012, the telescope was officially handed over in the\u00a0presence of the then Minister of Education Dr. Iyambo.<\/p>\n

More than 40 partnership agreements exist between German and Namibian universities.<\/p>\n

TheNamibian-German Centre for Logistics (NGCL), a joint project of the Namibia University of\u00a0Science and Technology and the University of Applied Sciences in Flensburg, is one of five Centers\u00a0of Excellence in Africa funded sponsored by the German Foreign Office. During the visit of the\u00a0then Federal Minister of Education and Research Schavan in April 2012 in Windhoek a\u00a0Memorandum of Understanding was signed to create a “Southern African Science Service Centre\u00a0for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management” (SASSCAL) with a German contribution of\u00a050 million euros.<\/p>\n

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) grants scholarships for post-graduate studies in\u00a0Germany as well as \u201esur place\u201c scholarships for studies in Namibia and South Africa.<\/p>\n

Preservation of Cultural Heritage<\/p>\n

Germany has spent over one million euros on the preservation of Namibia’s cultural heritage since\u00a01985. The projects range from protecting the rock carvings at Brandberg, historic steam engines and\u00a0railroad cars via the documentation of oral traditions and music all the way to preserving colonial\u00a0architecture (Estorff Building, Offiziershaus Warmbad, the building of the Namibia Scientific\u00a0Society) which Namibia’s government and society consider to be part of their heritage.\u00a0Sports<\/p>\n

Germany and Namibia cooperate very closely in the area of sports as well. Every year coaches from\u00a0Namibia receive training courses in Germany. The courses are held at the Sports Academy of the\u00a0German Football Federation in Hennef and at Leipzig University. Regular donations of sports\u00a0equipment by the German Foreign Office are bound to promote amateur sports in Namibia.\u00a015 March 2016 saw the opening of a new NFA Girls Centre which was funded by the German\u00a0Government. The NFA Girls Centre provides a safe space for girls and young women to meet,\u00a0participate in sporting activities and to be educated in life skills and HIV prevention<\/p>\n

Deutsche Welle Academy<\/p>\n

The Deutsche Welle Academy through its Namibia office supports community radio in rural areas\u00a0with training and equipment, promotes media and information literacy among the youth and in this\u00a0context advises NBC on its programming targeting the youth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABIDJAN, Namibia, March 16, 2016\/APO (African Press Organization)\/ — On Independence Day on 21 March 2016, Germany and Namibia are celebrating 26 years of\u00a0cooperation. Since Namibia\u2019s independence in 1990, relations with Germany have been particularly intensive,\u00a0due to: \u2022 the shared history of the colonial period (1884-1915) and Germany\u2019s resulting special historical\u00a0and political responsibility, \u2022 Germany\u2018s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[428,4585,830],"class_list":{"0":"post-66093","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-africa","8":"tag-apo","9":"tag-news","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66093\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}