New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emplaned for Namibia — the final stop of his five-nation visit — after wrapping up his State Visit to Brasilia where he met Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and also attended the 17th BRICS Summit in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

Taking to X, the PMO wrote: “PM @narendramodi has boarded for Namibia, the final destination of his tour”

Also, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randir Jaiswal wrote on X: “PM @narendramodi concludes a productive visit to Brazil and emplanes for Namibia. A memorable visit to Brazil concludes with a successful 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro & State visit in Brasilia.

“PM @narendramodi has emplaned for the last stop of his 5 country visit- Namibia.”

This will be first visit to Namibia by PM Modi and also the first Prime Ministerial visit to the African country after 27 years.

The MEA said that during his visit, PM Modi will meet Namibian President Netumbo Nandi Ndaitwah which also be the first meeting between the two leaders.

An official statement mentions that India and Namibia enjoy warm and cordial relations. The Namibian people and leadership view India as a dependable and trusted friend. Indian support during their liberation struggle is warmly recalled by Namibian leaders.

“We have reciprocated fully, endeavouring to strengthen relations further,” a statement by the High Commission of India, Windhoek, Namibia on its official website reads.

India was among the first nations to raise the question of Namibian independence in the UN, way back in 1946. The first SWAPO (which led Namibia’s liberation struggle) Embassy abroad was established in New Delhi in 1986. Accordance of full diplomatic status and support at NAM was also accompanied by material assistance and military training.

Lt. Gen. Dewan Prem Chand of Indian Army headed the UN peacekeeping force (UNTAG) deployed in Namibia (1989-90) to monitor the peace process and elections.

After Namibian independence, the Indian Observer Mission was upgraded to a full-fledged High Commission on 21 March 1990. Namibia opened a full-fledged resident Mission in New Delhi in March 1994.

India gifted 30,000 doses of Covishield Vaccines in March 2021 to combat Covid-19 pandemic. India also gifted 1,000 MT rice for drought relief in 2019 as also in 2017. Previously as well, India supported Namibia multiple times to fight natural calamities like drought and floods.

An India-Namibia Centre of Excellence in IT (INCEIT) was set up at Namibia University of Science & Technology (NUST) with Indian support, including provision of a super-computer. An ‘India Wing’ was established at University of Namibia’s Ongwediwa campus through a grant support of about $12 million by India. India also provided assistance to improve health infrastructure.

Under Development Partnership, a Forensic Expert was deputed to Namibian Police Forensic Science Institute for a period of three months as part of ITEC programme from June-August 2022. A number of Namibian civilian professionals and defence personnel visited India to attend various training courses under ITEC programme and ICCR scholarship schemes for 2024-25.

The Indian government also donated Namibia with 1,000 tonnes of rice and 1,000 tonnes of maize during in December 2024 as humanitarian assistance to support the people of Namibia who were affected by drought.

–IANS

pgh/