Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba has said he believed the upcoming China-Africa Summit to be held in early November in Chinese capital Beijing will further strengthen the friendly cooperation between the two sides.

In an interview with Xinhua, Pohamba said the China-Africa Cooperation serves as a platform for collective consultation and dialogue among developing nations with the intention to jointly meet challenges of economic globalization and to promote common development.

"I was invited to attend the summit when I visited China last year. And I am going to China in this November with an expectation of good result that will come out from the summit,"he said.

"China is one of the trusted emerging stronger economies in the world today. So we not only are going to expect to get assistance from China but also to learn how the Chinese people succeeded economically and socially," said the president.

Pohamba didn't agree what is termed as "China's Year of Africa, " which is based on the fact that the Chinese government has issued its African policies and Chinese leaders have visited so many African countries, saying China has been with Africa for the past 50 years.

"Namibia and China have cultivated excellent relations that could be traced during our struggle for freedom and independence," he said, adding that China was among those countries which rendered material and moral support to Namibia during "those dark days of struggle for independence."

"We shall continue to cement these cordial relations that exist between our two countries and peoples," he said. "This will be continued for many years to come."

Pohamba said he is very satisfied with current bilateral relationship between Namibia and China and Namibian people will learn and share experiences with more advanced and advancing nations such as China, India, Germany, the United States and many others.

It is critical for Namibia to find new areas of cooperation with China to accelerate its economic growth and prosperity, the president said. "It is heartening to learn that the Chinese government is offering to provide technical assistance in the form of concessional loans to address the continent's development level as well as write off debts."

"We in particular wish Namibia to join ventures with potential Chinese investors in fields such as gas and oil prospecting, exploration and processing, property development, telecommunication, port and road construction, manufacturing of automotive parts and spares, rail infrastructure development as well as leather processing," he said.

Source: Xinhuaruction, manufacturing of automotive parts and spares, rail infrastructure development as well as leather processing," he said.

Pohamba welcomes more Chinese companies to come and invest, as those who are already in the country have made "wonderful contributions" to its growth.

"The Chinese companies who had not yet come to Namibia are invited to come. They can come first to see what areas they would like to invest in. I want to see our people through joint ventures with Chinese to get trained in the running of business," the president said.

Many Chinese businesses are located at strategic centers in Namibia, including rural areas, benefiting the majority of Namibians, Pohamba said.

He said that he wanted to see Chinese companies to come and join their Namibian counterparts in bringing about development to Namibia, which gained independence in 1990 after longtime struggle.

The president specified agriculture, mining and tourism as three areas, among others, which most welcome more investment from Chinese companies.

Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Liang Yinzhu said here on Thursday at the reception commemorating the 57th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China that China has all along viewed Namibia as one of the most reliable friends and will continue to strengthen friendship with the country and its people.

The trade volume between the two countries increased rapidly and grew to nearly 140 million U.S. dollars last year, while the economic cooperation extended to the areas of railway and telecommunication.

Source: Xinhua