Namibia's foreign missions get N$590 million

NAMPA

WINDHOEK



The ministry of international relations and cooperation has set aside N$589.7 million to foot the operational bill of Namibia's foreign missions, which takes up the greatest chunk of the budget.

This is according to minister of international relations and cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who submitted the ministry's budget for the 2021/22 financial year for deliberation and approval in the National Assembly on Tuesday. Of the proposed N$827.7 million budget, 90% is reserved for operational expenditure while 10 percent (N$81.9 million) is earmarked for developmental expenditure. The ministry has five key programmes that informs its budgetary priorities, namely bilateral relations and cooperation; multilateral policy coordination; protocol and consular services; foreign mission representation and coordination and support services.

The bulk of the ministry's budget (71.25%) will be pumped into foreign missions in a bid to enhance economic diplomacy at all missions.

The second biggest recipient is multilateral policy coordination with N$118 million, which will be used to pay Namibia's membership fees to the various international bodies it belongs to.

“This is to ensure that we continue to participate in regional and international bodies to derive maximum benefits geared towards the implementation of our national development plans,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.

For bilateral relations and cooperation, a budget of N$23 million has been mooted. This programme is believed to be the backbone of effective bilateral cooperation. “The missions will continue to strengthen bilateral relations by cultivating people-to-people contact between Namibia and the people of concurrently accredited countries,” the deputy premier said.



Missions

For the protocol and consular agenda, the budget estimate stands at N$13 million, which will be used to fund state and diplomatic protocol matters, as well as ceremonial events.

During the 2020/21 financial year, eight foreign heads of diplomatic missions presented their letters of credence. Also during the same period, 11 Namibian heads of missions were commissioned while three honorary consuls were appointed by the Namibian government to assist in advancing the country's interests abroad. Namibia recorded positives outcomes through its bilateral and multilateral relation, pocketing N$100 million in foreign direct investment into the local economy, translating into 200 jobs.

The minister noted that international relations cannot be overemphasised.

“Our neighbours form a buffer between us and the rest of the world. In other words, they are our defence line,” she said.

She added: “The government has undertaken to elevate relations with her neighbours by entering into agreements establishing bi-national commissions with Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe in order to further consolidate our bilateral relations and cooperation.”