Staff Reporter
PRIME Minister Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare has highlighted reconciliation, youth empowerment and economic cooperation as key outcomes of his participation in the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Summit, saying peace remains essential for Africa’s development and prosperity.
Ngurare returned from the summit, where he represented President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah after receiving an invitation from Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço for Namibia to participate in the high-level gathering focused on advancing peace, dialogue and respect among cultures and religions.
Reflecting on the summit, Ngurare said Namibia gained valuable lessons on reconciliation and forgiveness, particularly from examples shared by religious leaders who had once been on opposing sides of conflicts but later became advocates for peace.
He highlighted the story of two religious leaders from Kaduna State in Nigeria, a pastor and an imam who had previously been involved in violence against each other but later worked together to promote reconciliation.
“One of them cut the hand of the other, but they were sitting and now talking to each other, saying that reconciliation and peace are possible,” Ngurare said.
He said the experience demonstrated that peace was achievable even after deep divisions and that African countries must prioritise unity to unlock development opportunities.
“We thank the two presidents, in this case our president and the president of Angola, for this platform, but also to say to Africa, especially the young people of Africa, that in the presence of peace, everything that we can desire can be achieved,” he said.
Ngurare also encouraged young Namibians to take advantage of opportunities emerging through closer cooperation with Angola, noting that professionals could contribute to sectors where skills shortages exist.
He said more than 50 Namibian medical doctors, including experienced practitioners, were prepared to work with their Angolan counterparts, while other opportunities were also being explored.
“Now that we are politically free, we must now be economically free. The resources of Africa must benefit Africans and young people must be at the forefront of this beneficiation,” he said.
During a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit with United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UNAOC High Representative Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Ngurare reaffirmed Namibia’s readiness to work with UNAOC in implementing the outcomes of the Windhoek+25 Declaration.
The Prime Minister highlighted Namibia’s National Youth Development Fund as a key investment in young people and proposed closer cooperation between the fund and UNAOC youth programmes, including opportunities for Namibian youth organisations to access the UNAOC Youth Solidarity Fund.
He said such partnerships could strengthen economic inclusion and social cohesion while contributing to conflict prevention and sustainable peace.
Ngurare also proposed collaboration between Namibia’s International Women’s Peace Centre and UNAOC’s Young Women Peacebuilders Initiative, suggesting that the centre could serve as a regional hub for training, research and engagement with young women peacebuilders and mediators across Africa.
He said the International Women’s Peace Centre was established as Namibia’s contribution to the global peace agenda, providing a platform for capacity building, research, dialogue and cooperation on women, peace and security.
The proposed partnerships reflect Namibia’s continued efforts to promote inclusive peace, youth empowerment and women’s leadership while strengthening its role in regional peacebuilding initiatives.
Photo: Office of the Prime Minister (OPM Namibia)
