Ban Ki-Moon visit ‘a huge statement for Namibia’

New Era, 20 June 2014, By Staff Reporter 

WINDHOEK – Namibia can use next week’s visit of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to cement its commitment to global peace as well as market its potential to the world.

These sentiments were expressed by the former Namibian ambassador to the USA and UN, Dr Kaire Mbuende, ahead of Ki-Moon’s planned visit to Windhoek next week.

Ki-Moon will officiate at the opening of the United Nations House, the international body’s new offices in Windhoek.

But for Mbuende, the occasion is bigger than just cutting the ribbon, as there are coherent advantages for Namibia, given the global profile of the visiting South Korean diplomat.

“First, it underscores the importance the UN attaches to Namibia. We are an active member of the UN and to have this kind of visit, is really good,” Mbuende, a former deputy minister of foreign affairs told New Era yesterday.

Ki-Moon’s visit to Namibia is the fourth by a UN secretary general, following that of Kurt Waldheim in 1974, Javier Perez de Cuellar in 1990 and Kofi Annan in 1997.

Mbuende highlighted Namibia’s active participation in UN activities, including chairing working groups on UN reforms. “The visit serves as a major PR opportunity. Our commitment to public good, the investment opportunities and our tourism will all get good marketing by this visit,” he said.

“Good governance and our commitment to global peace will also benefit because global attention will shift to our country during the visit. It’s a huge statement for Namibia,” said Mbuende

Political analyst Graham Hopwood, who serves as director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), described the envisaged visit as “symbolic”.

“I think the visit is largely symbolic and a chance for the beleaguered United Nations to emphasise a good news story from its past,” he said.

“The Namibian transition in 1989-90 is still regarded as one of the UN’s most successful peacekeeping operations.

“Since Namibia has built a headquarters building for the UN in Windhoek, perhaps the visit can be used by government to argue for a continued strong presence of UN agencies in Namibia in the future,” said Hopwood.

“This would be counter to the general trend among donor agencies to scale down or close their operations here because of Namibia’s status as an upper middle income country, among other factors. If Namibia is seen as a poster child for the success of the UN, there is a strong case for UN agencies remaining closely engaged rather than winding down their activities,” Hopwood opined.