President Hifikepunye Pohamba, and Mrs Penehupifo Pohamba, returned recently from India, after having paid a successful state visit to that country from August 30 to September 03, 2009.

The President was accompanied by a strong delegation that consisted of Government Ministers and officials and over 30 business persons. Those business representatives were drawn from various companies in Namibia, including those representing SMEs. They were all responsible for their own costs.

President Pohamba was received by his Indian counterpart, Smt Prathiba Devisingh Patil, President of India, with full military honours, and held wide-ranging talks with the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.

Prime Minister Singh's government was returned to power in the recent elections, and he was particularly warm in welcoming President Pohamba to India, pointing out that the Namibian head of state was the first leader to pay a state visit to the country since he was re-elected. Thus, Prime Minister Singh characterised President Pohamba's visit as significant in more than one way. This point was also clearly reflected in the local media during the state visit.

The talks held between President Pohamba and Prime Minister Singh were cordial and business-like, concentrating on Namibian/Indian bilateral relations. The two leaders were also able to cover some multilateral issues, such as the ongoing efforts for the reform of the United Nations. During the official talks, five Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) were presented and signed between the two governments. These MOUs are seen by both governments as reflecting their desire to renew and reinforce the already excellent bilateral relations that exist between Windhoek and New Delhi, and to greatly enhance the level of cooperation in the specified areas, as well as opening up potential new opportunities for the benefit of both countries.

President Pohamba and his delegation held extensive meetings with government leaders: from the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Government Ministers, and leaders of the two main political parties represented in Parliament. These are: Smt Sonia Gandhi, Chair of the UPA (governing party); and Shri L.K. Advani, Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha.

I had the opportunity of meeting my counterpart, the Director General of the Indian Development Planning Commission, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia. I briefed him on the work of the National Planning Commission in Namibia, sharing with him our current efforts to establish monitoring and evaluation of the various projects being implemented in the country, so that we are able to assess the impact of these projects on economic growth, poverty reduction, and employment creation. He was very impressed by what Namibia has done in this respect and we agreed to establish a close working relationship for our mutual benefit.

The delegation also had an opportunity to meet with members of various businesses through business forums that were organised by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in both New Delhi and Mumbai. These business forums were officially opened by President Pohamba. They provided Namibian and Indian businesspersons with opportunities to interact and identify possible areas of mutual interest and cooperation.

Because of time constraints, it was only possible to visit a few places. Apart from New Delhi, we were able to visit Agra and the famous Taj Mahal monument. This is indeed one of those impressive and historical monuments that require the visitor to spend enough time to really appreciate their significance.

Our next stop took us to Bangalore. Here we visited the Hindustan Aeronautics company, where we were shown the aircraft industry and various helicopters that are being produced there. In fact, the Government of Namibia has a long-standing working relation with the Hindustan Aeronautics, in particular with their helicopter department. We were also taken on a guided tour of the Tata BP Solar Plant, as well as the Infosys compound, where extensive research and planning is being undertaken. The delegation was later received by the Governor of Karnataka and his senior officials.

Next, the delegation travelled to Mumbai on September 02, 2009, and visited the Tata showroom, which consisted of various business activities covered by Tata, including ICT, clothing, leather products and vehicles, including the latest model, the Tata Nano, regarded in India as the cheapest small car in the world.

All in all, this was a successful state visit. We do expect an Indian business delegation to visit Namibia in the near future to follow up on some of the discussions we had, mostly concerning business opportunities in mining, ICT, Tourism, and Agriculture. There are also special issues that Namibia is expected to follow up. We will have to start with the signed MoUs and follow up on issues covered in the bilateral talks between the two leaders.

Interestingly, India has responded positively to Namibia's request for technical assistance in a number of areas. A number of study places have been offered for Namibian trainees. The Namibian Government wants to ensure that all such offers are taken up, to bolster our human resource capacity.

One of the last places the delegation visited was the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. The Institute goes back to 1944, when it was established with historical ties with Hyderabad and Bangalore. However, the Institute was moved to Mumbai, to be located in its present campus at Colaba, in the 1950s. They are interested in linking up with tertiary institutions in Namibia.

Members of our delegation were impressed by the research undertaken by the Institute. One of the Institute's early founders had this to say:

'The key to national prosperity, apart from the spirit of the people, lies in the modern age, in the effective combination of three factors, technology, raw material and capital, of which the first is perhaps the most important, since the creation and adoption of new scientific techniques can, in fact, make up for a deficiency in natural resources, and reduce the demands on capital. But technology can only grow out of a study of science and its applications.'

We can learn from this and from much of the Indian experience of development. But there are also a few things that Namibia can offer India in terms of economic cooperation. All this augurs well for the further development of Namibia/Indian cooperation.