By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has called for the implementation of the various MoUs between Nigeria and Namibia, especially in the areas of culture and tourism, to ensure that they translate into economic benefits for the two countries.
This was contained in statement signed and issued by Special Assistant to the President (Media) Office of the Minister of Information and Culture, Segun Adeyemi.
The Minister made the call in Abuja on yesterday when he received the Namibian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Humphrey Geiseb, on a courtesy visit.
He observed that the bilateral cooperation between the two nations, which dates back to 1992 on the platform of the 1st Nigeria-Namibia Joint Commission, expired without implementation, and expressed the hope that the MoUs will be revived for implementation this time around.
“Because the agreement on tourism cooperation between both countries suffered from lack of follow-up, a separate MOU on tourism cooperation was decided upon during the 3rd session of the Joint Commission in 2008, and signed six years later, in 2014.
“Unfortunately, the MOU, which had a lifespan of five years, has expired and, until then, nothing was done by our two countries. I am aware that efforts are on to renew the MoU for another five years.
Hopefully, this time, we will act to implement the MoU,” Alhaji Mohammed said.
He promised to encourage a working relationship between Nollywood and the Namibian Film Industry, against the background of the interest expressed by a talented Namibian actress to feature in Nollywood movies as a way of further honing her professional skills.
The Minister, who welcomed the support offered by Namibia to help improve Elephant conservation in Nigeria, stressed that with global warming and poaching, African wildlife is in danger of extinction.
