Prime Minister's Visit to Namibia
On July 9, 2025, the prime minister addressed a joint session of the Parliament of the Republic of Namibia, reaffirming India's long-standing support for Namibia's decolonization and development.
Key Themes and Highlights
- Support for Decolonization: The prime minister emphasized India's active role in Namibia's independence movement, highlighting that India was one of the first countries to advocate for Namibia's independence at the United Nations in 1946.
- Adoption of UPI Digital Payment System: Namibia has adopted India's UPI digital payment system, symbolizing technological cooperation between the two nations.
- Africa Policy: India aims to cooperate with Africa, focusing on collaborative growth rather than competition. The PM emphasized that Africa should lead in value creation and sustainable growth.
- Agreements and MoUs:
Several agreements were signed, including setting up an Entrepreneurship Development Centre and cooperation in health and medicine.- Namibia joined the India-led Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
- Namibia became part of the Global Biofuel Alliance.
- Technology and Infrastructure: The UPI technology licensing agreement between the National Payments Corporation of India and the Bank of Namibia will launch a digital payments system later this year.
- Awards and Recognitions: The Prime Minister received Namibia's highest civilian award, the Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis.
