The Namibia Economist

Agri minister talks to Palestinians

On Friday 29 June, the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, John Mutorwa and his  counterpart of the Palestinian territories, Walid Assaf signed the Agricultural Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) based on technical cooperation in the field of agriculture between the two countries.
The MOU will strengthen and consolidate cooperation between the two ministries and know-how exchange in the field of water, modern irrigation techniques, forestry development, controlling animal disease by movement control, and cooperation in the field of plant protection. Namibia, Israel, and the Palestinian territories share similar conditions of arid to semi-arid climates, with limited arable land.
Speaking at the signing ceremony held in the capital, Minister John Mutorwa stressed the importance of sharing experiences and technical knowledge in agriculture, more so because of the challenge of climate change which he said was facing the entire world. “This worldwide phenomenon of climate change, has affected and is affecting Namibia to such an extent that we have been identified to be highly susceptible to the negative impact of climate change,” Mutorwa said.
He said that Namibia will continue to support the struggle of the Palestinian people to achieve their inalienable right to national self determination and independence, adding that the country fully supports the addmission of Palestine into the United Nations. The Agriculture Minister therefore pointed out the importance of cooperation between Namibia and the Palestinian territories on both political and agricultural level. On his country’s behalf, Palestinian agriculture minister, Walid Assaf praised Namibia’s political position with respect to the Palestinian case in establishing its independence and said that optimal development wouldn’t be possible if the country (Palestine) does not have the sovereignity over its natural resources such as water and land.
A Palestinian-Namibian Agricultural Commitee would supervise the implentation of the agreement by introducing cooperation priorities and vital projects for both ministries. The committee will be tasked to set up an action plan and mechanism to ensure the implementation of the MOU. The commitee will meet once a year under the ministers’ patronage to review the progress of the cooperation agreed upon and put down new actions and suggestions.

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