EU member states reiterate support

The European Union (EU) has assured Namibia of its continued support in its developmental initiatives, despite the country being classified as an upper-middle-income state.The World Bank in 2020 upgraded Namibia’s status from a middle-income country to an upper-middle-income country.Germany’s deputy head of mission to Namibia, Ellen Gölz, on Monday said with or without the classification, Germany will continue to support Namibia’s development through existing and new projects.“For Germany, this [classification] does not mean we have stopped or reduced our development cooperation with Namibia. In fact, it has only brought it higher and we are confident that it will remain the same in the future,” Gölz said.The French ambassador to Namibia, Sebastien Minot, similarly noted that while Namibia will most likely receive fewer grants from the EU, this does not prevent or stop member countries from supporting Namibia.He gave his assurance that France will continue to support Namibia directly in the form of grants, loans and partnerships, even though it is classified as an upper-middle-income country.Spain’s ambassador to Namibia, Javier Romero, said he looked forward to the EU-Africa summit, where member countries can re-evaluate the classification system and the impact it has on countries’ progress and development.‘NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT’Namibia receives development assistance from 11 European Development funds, but also benefits from other financial instruments such as regional support programmes, thematic budget-lines calls for proposals and European instruments for democracy and human rights.EU ambassador to Namibia, Sinikka Antila, said they were still waiting to hear what kind of funding portfolio they will get for Namibia.She said the next programme between Namibia and EU is under the theme of the ‘Neighbourhood development and international cooperation instruments (NDICI)’, which would cover the 2021-2027 period.It will focus on areas such as green growth, which among others includes sustainable economic and social recovery in the post COVID-19 era, the development and use of sustainable energy, water and sanitation, as well as the protection of biodiversity. - Nampa

EU member states reiterate support

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Republikein 2025-06-17

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EU member states reiterate support

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