Namibia will keep its ports open for international trade to assist its neighbours to continue trading despite the coronavirus lockdowns imposed by most countries, President Hage Geingob said on Friday.
In an address to fellow heads of state and government from neighbouring Southern African countries, Geingob said the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the recognition “how interdependent and how interconnected we are as neighbours.”
“Namibia will continue to keep ports and harbours open in order to facilitate the movement of goods to landlocked neighbours and beyond,” he said during a virtual meeting convened by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in his capacity as African Union chairman.
Namibia has two harbours handling merchandise imports and exports and servicing the fishing industry.
The only deep-sea harbour is Walvis Bay in the Erongo Region, while the other harbour is Luderitz in the //Karas Region.
The Port of Walvis Bay is situated at the west Coast of Africa and provides an easier and much faster transit route between Southern Africa, Europe and the Americas.
The Port of Lüderitz is located to the Southern Coast of Namibia and caters for Southern Namibia as well as providing access to markets in the Northern Cape of South Africa.
The online meeting was convened to discuss the AU’s interventions to assist member states deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
JN/APA