Namibia is all set to roll out the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) within this year, along with the setting up of an Entrepreneurship Development Centre. The same was announced on Wednesday after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah held conversations in Windhoek focused on imparting new momentum to bilateral ties.
The Modi–Ndaitwah meeting primarily focused on improving bilateral cooperation between the two countries in areas including digital technology, defence, security, agriculture, healthcare, education, and critical minerals. An announcement regarding the launch of a digital payment system in Namibia, as an outcome of the signing of the UPI technology licensing agreement between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Bank of Namibia in April last year, was also made.
India and Namibia also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the setting up of an Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Namibia and another for cooperation in health and medicine. Namibia will also participate in the India-led Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). The CDRI is dedicated to enhancing the resilience of infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risk and includes national governments, international organisations, and private sector actors.
What State Heads States
“Cooperation in areas such as digital technology, defence, security, agriculture, healthcare, education, and critical minerals figured prominently in our discussion… We also discussed how to boost linkages in trade, energy, and petrochemicals. I expressed gratitude for the assistance from Namibia in Project Cheetah,” said Prime Minister Modi in a social media post.
The talks concluded at the State House with the two sides signing four agreements, including cooperation in the field of health and medicine, setting up of the Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Namibia, the CDRI framework, and the Global Biofuel Alliance framework.
This is the first visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the country of Namibia, and the third ever by any Indian Prime Minister.
