Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will attend a street renaming ceremony in Zambia, during which Lusaka’s Kasama Street will be renamed in honour of Namibia’s Founding President, Dr Sam Nujoma, and Sadzu Street will be renamed in honour of the late former Namibian President, Dr Hage Gottfried Geingob.
This was announced by the Namibian Presidency, which revealed that the ceremony will form part of the President’s working visit to Zambia on Friday, 16 May 2025. The streets are being renamed in recognition of the fact that both leaders lived in Zambia during Namibia’s liberation struggle.
“The working visit to Zambia reflects the cordial bilateral relations between Namibia and Zambia, founded on mutual respect and shared values, which are rooted in the liberation struggle. Since independence, Namibia and Zambia collaborate across a broad array of sectors, including agriculture, mining, energy, education, health, trade and investment, environment and tourism, transport and communication, sport and culture and the legal sector. To further facilitate trade, movement of goods, Zambia has a dry port at Walvis Bay. Moreover, the two countries signed bilateral Agreement for the establishment of One-Stop Border post (OSBP) at Katima Mulilo Border Post, which seeks to strengthen the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor,” the Namibian Presidency explained.
Before travelling to Zambia, President Nandi-Ndaitwah will undertake a working visit to Botswana, where she will hold official talks with President Duma Boko, focusing on strengthening bilateral relations, particularly in the economic sectors aimed at job creation.
“Namibia and Botswana enjoy strong diplomatic relations, underpinned by historical, socio-economic, cultural and people-people exchanges. The working visit presents an opportunity for Namibia to further strengthen bilateral relations with Botswana, which are at the high level of a Bi-National Commission,” the Namibian Presidency said.
The Presidency added that the President will also seek to consolidate bilateral cooperation on joint infrastructure projects, including the upgrading of the Trans-Kalahari and Mamuno Border Posts, as well as collaboration on the Trans-Kunene Corridor.
“In addition to trade facilitation through the SADC-Free Trade Area and tourism cooperation, the two countries are also pursuing energy collaboration through the joint development of the Mohembo-Katima Mulilo and Gaborone-Kudzanai-Katima transmission lines,” the presidency added.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah will depart for Botswana on Thursday, 15 May 2025, travel to Zambia later that night, and return to Namibia on Friday, 16 May 2025.
“The working visits to Botswana and Zambia mark the second engagement between President Nandi-Ndaitwah and His Excellency President Duma Boko of Botswana, and the first with His Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, since President Nandi-Ndaitwah assumed office on 21 March 2025,” the Namibian Presidency said.
