Windhoek – The Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, arrived this Friday in Windhoek for the funeral of the Namibian President, Hage Geingob, who passed away on February 4, aged 82.
The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, accompanied by the First Lady Ana Dias Lourenço, was welcomed in Windhoek by the minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation, Utoni Nujoma.
President João Lourenço who will be among the 27 Heads of State that will be present at the funeral ceremony, at the Independence Stadium.
It should be noted that shortly after learning of his counterpart's death, the President of the Republic addressed a message to the Namibian people, expressing heartfelt and deep condolences for the event.
João Lourenço, also acting president of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), said that this is a deeply sad occurrence for the whole of Africa, for the Southern region and especially for Namibia.
“We have lost a unique figure in the contemporary history of the Namibian people, who leaves a void that is difficult to fill as it is not easy to replace a man with his moral strength, with his integrity”, reads the letter addressed to the interim president from Namibia, Nangolo Mbumba.
Angola and Namibia established diplomatic ties on September 18, 1990, with embassies and consulates in the respective capitals (Luanda and Windhoek).
Between the two States there are cooperation agreements in several areas, notably visa exemptions, Defense and Security, Industry, Commerce, Energy and Water, Fisheries, Tourism and Transport.
A Bilateral Agreement on the Movement of People and Goods, signed in 1992, is also in force, which provides, among other aspects, the free movement of Angolans and Namibians within a radius of 60 kilometers along the border.
However, the two parties in power (MPLA and Swapo) have cooperated since the liberation struggle of both peoples, who proclaimed independence in 1975 (Angola) and 1990 (Namibia).
Geingob was the third President of Namibia, after Sam Nujoma and Lucas Pohamba.
ADR/VIC/CF/jmc
