Merchant shipping set sail on new bilateral agreement between Namibia and Germany

A new merchant shipping agreement between Namibia and Germany was finalised this week after two day of negotiations. The bilateral agreement was successfully negotiated in Windhoek between two government delegations of Germany and Namibia.

This agreement is expected to strengthen the economic relations between the two countries and to promote Namibia’s transformation into a logistics hub for the southern African region.

The Namibia delegation included the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works and Transport , Mr. Willem Goeiemann as head of delegation, assisted by Mr. Cornelius Bundje, the Director of the Namibian Maritime and Fisheries Institute, Mr. Pinehas Auene, the acting Director of Maritime Affairs, Captain Lucas Kufuna, the Port Captain of Walvis Bay, officials from the Namibian Ports Authority and other senior officials from the Ministry of Works and Transport, the maritime and fisheries institute and the Office of the Attorney General.

The German delegation was lead by Director General Reinhard Klingen of the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The rest of the delegation comprised Mr. Peter Escherich, Head of Department for International Maritime Policy and Mr. Jürgen Göpel from the Department for International and National Affairs of Seafarers.

After signing the agreement, the delegations prepared for a joint visit of the harbour, Namport’s offices and the Namibian Maritime and Fisheries Institute.

In a statement announcing the agreement, the two teams stated “Shipping is the most cost-effective way to transport the vast majority of goods in international trade and will be central for global sustainable development and growth. Germany ranks first in the World Bank’s global Logistics Performance Index 2016. Short turn-around times, the interlinking of different modes of transport and advanced logistics strategies help make this possible. Under the agreement and the envisaged cooperation projects, German companies can provide this know-how to make a major contribution to more trade and growth in and with Africa.”