Namibia welcomes Chinese companies, travellers to come: President

The governments of Namibia and China have agreed to encourage business people to visit and invest in the other country, visiting Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba said in Beijing Monday evening.

During an interview with Xinhua after holding talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Pohamba said the two governments have signed a number of new agreements on implementing and expanding bilateral cooperation in such areas as mutual investment and joint ventures.

The two countries signed an agreement on economic and technological cooperation Monday afternoon.

Pohamba said the two governments agreed to facilitate companies that set up joint business ventures in both Namibia and China. He said Namibia has adopted a legal framework that protects foreign investors and allows them to export dividends back home.

"I invite Chinese business people to come to Namibia and to look around for investment opportunities," Pohamba said.

He said after years of war and reconstruction, Namibia is in great need of expertise that Chinese companies and business people can bring to help the development of local business.

"There are a lot of areas where we (Namibia and China) could expand cooperation," Pohamba said of such fields as mining, professional training, infrastructure development, agriculture and fishing.

Pohamba's first visit to China since assuming presidency has taken him to many places in the country, including southern high-tech hub Hainan and booming industrial city Chongqing in the southwest. During this trip, Pohamba and his entourage of senior government officials and entrepreneurs visited a number of Chinese companies, including automobile factories and mobile phone producers.

Pohamba told Xinhua though Namibia is unlikely to establish similar industries in the near future, it could start with cooperating with China on training professional personnel for future development.

He said Namibia and China have already signed a series of agreements on strengthening bilateral cooperation over the years. The new agreement signed during his current visit to China is an integral part of the activities that the two countries took to implement cooperative measures, he said.

Pohamba also welcomes individual Chinese people to visit Namibia, describing the country as a marvelous destiny for tourists.

The Chinese government has already decided to list Namibia as one of the overseas travel destinations for Chinese citizens.

Source: Xinhua