Staff Reporter
TRADE between Namibia and Mexico amounted to approximately 29 million US dollars (USD) last year, of which about USD27 million represent exports from Namibia to Mexico.
This was shared by the newly-accredited Ambassador of the United Mexican States to Namibia, Sara Bolaño, after she presented her Letter of Credence, along with the recall letter of her predecessor, to President Hage Geingob on Friday.
Bolaño revealed that Namibia mainly exports machinery, electronics and large manufacturing parts to Mexico, while Mexico exports mainly chemicals and yeast to Namibia. She said that Mexico’s exports to Namibia amounted to a little more than USD2 million. Bolaño therefore emphasised that there is a need to diversify trade between the two countries, which is one of the key areas that she will focus on during her tenure.
Bolaño was one of eleven Heads of Mission that presented their Letters of Credence to President Geingob on Friday.
The High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Lovell Francis, also presented his Letter of Credence to the president and said that there are several critical areas that the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago can cooperate on with Namibia. He explained that Trinidad has years of experience in the energy business, which is why he intends to cooperate with Namibia to further the country’s green energy ambitions.
The other Heads of Mission who presented their Credence Letters to the president include the Ambassador of Türkiye, Feral Oruckaptan, the Ambassador of Sudan, Osama Dirar, the Ambassador of Bulgaria, Maria Tzotzorkova-Kaymaktchieva, the Ambassador of Hellenic, Georgios Aravositas, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Jarr Inalla, the Ambassador of Hungary, Attila Horváth, the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic, Vladimir Gracz, the High Commissioner of New Zealand, Dr Emma Dunlop-Bennett, and the Ambassador of Korea, Choi Kwang-Jin.
The ambassadors of Türkiye and Hellenic highlighted tourism as one of the key areas that they would focus on during their respective tenures, while the Bulgarian ambassador said that she aims to further promote economic cooperation, trade, culture, education and Information Technology (IT) innovations between Namibia and Bulgaria.
The High Commissioner of New Zealand as well as the Sudanese and Hungarian ambassadors highlighted agriculture as one of the sectors that will take focus during their respective tenures. The Sudanese ambassador also said that he aims to focus on capacity building and defence, while the Hungarian ambassador added that he aims to focus on collaboration in the education, financial and scientific sectors during his tenure.
The Mauritanian ambassador said that his tenure will prioritise mining, fishing and green hydrogen as Namibia and Mauritania share these interests. The Korean ambassador said that he intends to focus on economic development for post-Covid-19 recovery and the ambassador of the Slovak Republic said that he aims to strengthen relations between the two countries by prioritising education, cultural exchanges and enhancing research.
