PH and Namibia vow to strengthen bilateral ties

The flags of Namibia and the Philippines. STOCK IMAGE/INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that the Philippines and Namibia should strengthen ties and look for common areas of interest.

Marcos made the pronouncement after accepting the credentials of  Namibia Non-Resident Ambassador to the Philippines Herman Pule Diamonds in Malacañan Palace on Thursday.

According to a Palace statement on Friday, Marcos and Diamonds discussed matters of trade and industry, agriculture, and technical cooperation as Namibia and the Philippines try to fortify bilateral ties.

“What is left to us now is for us to find those complementarities. Those areas that we can help each other,” the Palace statement quoted Marcos as telling Diamonds during their meeting.

READ: DMW says 35 Filipino fishers became victims of forced labor in Namibia

Marcos, who heads the country’s Department of Agriculture, also told Diamonds that the Philippines had dedicated institutes that study the agricultural sector.

“We take pride in the fact that many of the agriculturists and agronomists around Southeast Asia trained with us and we can claim credit for some of the success that they are enjoying now. So, I think that is something that we could certainly look into,” he said.

In turn, Diamonds told Marcos that Namibia is looking to diversify its trade and investment. He also acknowledged that the Philippines has technological advances that his country is yet to have.

“We also have the same challenges. As the Philippines [have] technologies which we do not have. So, this is also an area where we can see technical cooperation,” Diamonds said, according to the Palace statement.

According to Radio Television Malacañang, Namibia and the Philippines established diplomatic relations in 1996. Filipino researchers and experts helped Namibia’s development after becoming independent from South Africa in 1990.

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