TANZANIA and Namibia have struck an agreement that would deepen cooperation in five key areas envisaged to boost the two nations’ economies.

Closing a three-day Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) meeting between Dar and Windhoek, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Prof Palamagamba Kabudi mentioned the targeted areas of cooperation as diplomacy, agriculture, tourism, health, business and investments, education, sports and culture.

“Apart from sharing common colonial history whereby both countries were colonised by Germany, Tanzania has a lot to learn from Namibia in sectors of tourism, exporting processed meat and deep sea fishing,” the minister noted.

Namibia can also draw a leaf from Tanzania in the fields of medicine, academic cooperation, agriculture and methods of combating drought, suggested Prof Kabudi.

According to the Tanzanian minister, the new agreements of boosting economy were indispensable as statistics over the past ten years, showed that growth of trade and investment between the two was moving at a snail’s pace.

The minister recalled Namibia’s exports and investments to Tanzania, saying Windhoek beer was topping imported commodities from the Southwest nation with many liquor consumers preferring the Namibian beer.

On improving cultural relations, Prof Kabudi said the two nations agreed to recognise Kiswahili should as a liberation language for African countries and that Tanzania will spearhead establishment of the liberation heritage site. “Tanzania will select an area in which a world class liberation heritage site will be constructed.

Soon it will be decided where the site will be located among the former camps in Kongwa area Dodoma, Morogoro or Iringa region,” he revealed.

The site will be used to remind and teach new generations about African liberation struggles, said the minister, adding that Tanzania plans to open her Embassy in Namibia before end of the year as promised by President John Magufuli during his official visit to Namibia this year.

For her part, the leader of the JPC delegation from Namibia, who is the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Ms Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said that her country was happy for the agreements and looking ahead for a stronger relationship.

The closure session was also attended by the Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, the Minister for Minerals Doto Biteko, and the Minister for Industry and Trade Innocent Bashungwa.

Source: Dailynews

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.