Namibia and Finland tighten their bond

The Maritime Logistics Seminar took place in Walvis Bay earlier this week. The seminar was a collaboration between Namibia and Finland and its aim was to develop capacity building between Logistic Clusters of the two countries in order to enhance business relations.

Her Excellency Anne Saloranta, Ambassador of the Finnish Embassy said that the reason for Finland to provide support to maritime education originates also from the fact that maritime sector and efficient logistics network are crucial for the Finnish economy and its global competitiveness.
She added that the growing potential and interest for increase trade is well in line with the fact that Namibia is on its way to become a regional leader in logistics distribution in Southern African. “for years, Namibia has been developing its logistics hub concept and Walvis Bay is becoming an increasingly important transit route to countries in the SADC region,” she added.
She emphasised that the Finnish Embassy in Namibia currently focuses on private sector development where they would like to see business opportunities opening up in Namibia for Finnish businesses and likewise in Finland for Namibian business interests. “We are keen to offer our assistance to enhance trade and commercial contacts between our two countries,” she added
The Seminar programme consisted of presentations from International and Namibian Experts like Prof Errol Tyobeka from the Polytechnic of Namibia, Mr. Cornelius Bundje, from the Namibia Fisheries and Maritime Institute, Rector Juha Kamari, Chairman of the MARIBIA Project Board to name but a few.
The Finnish funded MARIBA project has covered areas of maritime education, training and capacity building. The project is an example of co-operation in a key sector to Namibia’s economy with an overarching goal of increasing opportunities for maritime education and enhancing its quality, which will result in the improvement of lives and livelihoods of the population in particular that of the young people.
The institutions involved in Seminar were The Satakunta University of Applied Science of Finland in cooperation with the Faculty of Logistics and Maritime Technology, Finland, The Polytechnic of Namibia, Namibian-German Institute for Logistics, Namibia Fisheries and Maritime Institute, Embassy of Finland and the Walvis Bay Corridor Group.