Namibia and Burundi set to work together
By Staff Reporter

Namibia and Burundi have agreed to work together in areas such as agriculture, trade and investment, education and health. This comes at the end of a three-day State visit by Burundian President, Pierre Nkurunziza, to Namibia this week.

Before President Nkurunziza left for his country on Thursday morning, the two countries signed a general cooperation agreement at State House, which committed the two countries to working together in economic, scientific and technical, social and cultural fields.

The agreement was signed by Foreign Affairs Minister, Utoni Nujoma, and his Burundian counterpart, Nsanze Augustin, in the presence of the two Presidents. A communiqué issued at the end of the visit revealed that the two Presidents had agreed to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries and deepen their relations.

On his arrival, President Nkurunziza had been emphasizing the need for cooperation between the two countries, especially in the field of agriculture, which is Burundi’s mainstay of the economy.

Upon his coming to power in 2005, President Nkurunziza launched Burundi’s marshal plan, called the Rejuvenation Plan, with the main focus on agricultural development.

Based on this, President Pohamba expressed optimism that the two countries would find areas of common interest. During his stay in Namibia, President Nkurunziza visited various agricultural projects and factories such as Meatco, Namibia Breweries, Neudam Agricultural College and Okapuka Lodge.

Burundi has gone through many civil wars at various points in its history. The recent bloodiest ones were in 1993, following the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye, and in 1994, following the killing of President Cyprien Ntaryamira in a plane that was shot down on decent into Kigali, neighboring Rwanda.

Rwandan President, Habiyarimana, was also killed in the same plane.The years that followed saw orgies of senseless killings of innocent civilians. The civil war that ensued saw thousands of refugees fleeing and streaming into neighboring countries such as Tanzania, triggering one of the biggest humanitarian crisis in recent years.

“We are encouraged that since you took office in 2005, the hopes of the people of Burundi have been realized,” said President Pohamba in his State Banquet Address. “Indeed, light has been shining from Mbujumbura, (capital) throughout the valleys and mountains of Burundi.

“Security has improved significantly… Hundreds of thousands of refugees have returned to their country. These are amazing results, especially when one considers how far Burundian people have had to come to reach this point.”