Finnish parliament establishes Namibia Friendship Group
The Finnish parliament has established a Namibia Friendship group which aims to strengthen the collaboration between the Finnish and Namibian parliaments and to further the economic, cultural, and other liaisons between the countries.
The Friendship Group will be chaired by Finnish parliament member of Parliament Ville Valkonen, who has a personal connection with Namibia.
“I have spent my childhood in Namibia and my wife is Namibian. Namibia is a well-developed and peaceful African country. It is the only nation from sub-Saharan Africa that has an Embassy in Helsinki,” Valkonen said.
Valkonen said Europe should cooperate more with the global South in order to support democratic and constitutional development processes in these countries. He said Africa has huge potential for investment and trade and many critical strategic natural resources.
”Finland has a lot to offer to Namibia, for example in terms of governance development and education cooperation and Namibia has a lot to offer to Finland as a stable gateway to Southern Africa,” Valkonen said.
