Chinese ambassador to Namibia bids farewell

Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Xin Shunkang said the trade volume between China and Namibia reached 705 million U.S dollars, while Chinese investment in Namibia hit 4.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2015.

In his farewell speech delivered on Thursday in the capital city Windhoek, Ambassador Xin said he felt deeply honored to represent China in"the beautiful and peaceful Namibia and finish my diplomatic career of nearly 40 years."

Xin was posted to Namibia in 2012 and since then China has implemented 18 aid projects in 10 sectors including agriculture, health care, education, military, infrastructure, climate, human resources, fishery and housing.

"During my tenure, the friendship inspired me every minute to do my utmost to enhance it and deepen it, by strengthening the bilateral relations and boosting the economic cooperation. Now when we look back, the results make me satisfied and proud," he said.

According to Xin, there are now 49 Chinese companies registered in Namibia in different fields like construction, telecommunications and mining.

He also said the prophase of exporting Namibian beef to China has come to the final stage.

"Namibia will soon become the first African country to export beef to China," he said.

Xin added relations between China and Namibia have been strengthened by 16 mutual high-level visits during his tenure.

He also said people-to-people and cultural exchanges hit a record high as China has engaged in training Namibians at all levels and fields such as media, business, agriculture and military.

"More Namibian students went to China for further study and many of them were funded by Chinese government scholarships," he said.

Xin said China is ready to continue its efforts to help Namibia realize its development goals.

"I hope you would remember me as an old friend and a Chinese ambassador who is good at singing the national anthem of Namibia," he said. Enditem