Prince excited about first visit to Namibia

ELLANIE SMIT Prince William, who is on his maiden visit to Namibia, says he is excited to be in the Land of the Brave and even joked about hoping a gift he received was a real rhino in a box.Prince William arrived in Namibia yesterday on the first leg of an African trip to promote the fight against illegal wildlife trade.Shortly after landing at Hosea Kutako National Airport the Duke of Cambridge met with Vice-president Nangolo Mbumba to discuss critical issues relating to wildlife and conservation.Also attending the meeting were the British high commissioner to Namibia, Kate Airey, environment minister Pohamba Shifeta and the director of parks and wildlife management in the environment ministry, Colgar Sikopo.Prince William is on a seven-day tour of Africa in his capacity as the president of the umbrella organisation United for Wildlife and the conservation body Tusk Trust.Prince William said he was excited to be in Namibia to discuss issues relating to wildlife and conservation. He said it was his first visit to the country, although his wife had travelled to Namibia several times in her private capacity.Mbumba said it was an honour to welcome Prince William to Namibia on behalf of President Hage Geingob, who was attending the UN General Assembly session in New York.Mbumba said the prince was not only focusing international attention on Namibia’s wildlife, but also its tourism sector.A private discussion was then held, after which gifts were exchanged. A rhino sculpture was given to Prince William, while Mbumba received a photo of Queen Elizabeth taken during her visit to Namibia just after independence.Briefing the media afterwards about the discussions, Airey said the Tusk Trust supports several projects in Namibia, such as the Save the Rhino Trust and Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC). Prince William will be visiting these projects, but further details of his itinerary cannot be disclosed for security reasons.She said initially the prince’s visit would have been a private one, but he felt it was important that it be officially recognised.Airey said Prince William was here to learn about the conservation model in Namibia and how the country involves local communities in conservation.Environment minister Shifeta said many countries wanted to learn from Namibia’s conservation success story.“It makes us proud that the international community wants to learn from us.”London will host the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference on 11 and 12 October.It aims to strengthen international partnerships and will focus on three key themes: tackling the smuggling of animals, insects and plants as an organised crime; building coalitions and closing markets for illegal wildlife products.Airey said they wanted Namibia to play a leading role at the conference to tell the international community about successful conservation.

Prince excited about first visit to Namibia

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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Prince excited about first visit to Namibia

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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