External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s official visits to South Africa and Namibia, from 1 June to 6 June, 2023, have further cemented India’s strong bonds with these countries, said a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on June 7.
During the foreign minister’s visit to Cape Town, South Africa, from 1-3 June, Jaishankar participated in the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting and the Friends of BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on June 1 and 2, respectively. At the meetings, the minister presented India’s perspectives on global and regional developments, global economic recovery, and the functioning of multilateral institutions, including BRICS.
The Joint BRICS Foreign ministers’ statement issued on 1 June reflected the collective stance of the member nations. In addition to the multilateral engagements, Jaishankar held separate bilateral interactions with his counterparts attending the meetings. He met the President of South Africa, along with other BRICS ministers, to discuss bilateral issues of mutual interest.
His visit to Namibia, from 4-6 June, was the first visit by an External Affairs Minister of India to the Republic of Namibia. He called on Hage Geingob, President of Namibia and co-chaired the inaugural Session of the Joint Commission Meeting with the Namibian Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. The meetings provided a platform for discussing bilateral cooperation across various sectors and identifying new areas of collaboration. The minister also inaugurated the India-Namibia Centre of Excellence in Information Technology in Windhoek, to boost cooperation in the area of technology and capacity building.
