Maria David
NAMIBIA, like the rest of the Commonwealth, is blessed with opportunities, according to Minister of International Relations and Trade, Selma Ashipala-Musavyi.
She made these remarks during the inaugural Business Summit in Windhoek on Wednesday, emphasizing the need to leverage these advantages for collective growth.
According to Ashipala-Musavyi, as Commonwealth countries, they should build upon working together, while being focused on investment promotion, to grow visionary and mutually beneficial partnerships and advance their shared Commonwealth values and goals — to forge meaningful linkages between governments and businesses, policy and practice, and aspiration and implementation.
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“Member countries in our Commonwealth family are richly endowed with natural resources and a wealth of young people with skills and knowledge, ready to contribute to the global economy,” she said.
She added that their task is to facilitate the unlocking of this potential through collaboration and partnerships across borders.
Ashipala-Musavyi added that Commonwealth heritage is underpinned by their 56 member countries, comprising 2.7 billion people — a third of the global population.
She expressed her belief that the Commonwealth holds immense potential.
“I believe that the Commonwealth can harness the vision of promoting local production and intra-Commonwealth trade through building a unique platform that aligns our aspirations to address youth unemployment, build resilient value chains, embrace the green and digital economies, and reduce dependence on extractive exports,” she added.
Ashipala-Musavyi then urged Commonwealth countries to focus on concretised partnerships, bankable ideas, and a renewed commitment to building a Commonwealth that is connected by history and unified in shared economic prosperity.
The summit, which kicked off on Wednesday, will conclude on Friday.
