WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP AND THE EMBASSY OF FINLAND JOIN HANDS
From left to right: Johny M. Smith, Business Development Executive of the WBCG and the Charge de Affairs of the Embassy of Finland, His Excellency, Mr Asko Luukkainen
At an official signing ceremony between the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) and the Embassy of Finland, the Embassy of Finland in Windhoek has granted the WBCG financial assistance of fifty thousand Euros which amounts to approximately N$500 000, and provides for technical and financial assistance. The agreement was signed on the 26th of February 2010, at the WBCG Head Office in Windhoek by His Excellency, Mr Asko Luukkainen, the Charge de Affairs of the Embassy of Finland and Johny Smith, the Business Development Executive of the WBCG.
The signing of this agreement culminates a series of discussions and consultations between the Embassy of Finland and the WBCG on future partnership and synergies in response to support the developmental drive to develop the Walvis Bay Corridors as alternative trade routes for southern Africa and marks the beginning of a fruitful strategic partnership. The technical and financial assistance by the Embassy of Finland includes the gathering of data from existing sources and utilising this information on how the growth along the transport corridors is affecting and improving economic conditions along the corridor, bearing in mind that some of the corridor distances traverse into more than 2,000 kilometres from the Port of Walvis Bay to the hinterland of the SADC region in Angola, Botswana, DRC, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It will also include the funding of a fact finding mission to Helsinki Finland which will be embarked upon by members of the WBCG for further in depth discussions and site visits to relevant institutions in Finland.
According to the Charge de Affairs of the Embassy of Finland, His Excellency Mr Asko Luukkainen , “Embassy of Finland seeks to support the supply and trade capacity of Namibia for Namibia’s better integration to the regional and global economy and to strengthen and diversify private sector development by promoting trade and investments between Finnish and Namibia enterprises.” The Business Development Executive of the WBCG, Johny Smith, further added, that “With the current and anticipated growth of traffic along the Walvis Bay Corridors it is important that the WBCG through collective efforts of all corridor stakeholders create, maintain and develop adequate, safe, secure, reliable and efficient transport infrastructure along all corridors. It will also form the basis for the transport sector in Namibia to position itself as a key and imperative sector to ensure socio – economic development within the Namibian economy.
In terms of infrastructural development along the Walvis Bay Corridors, one of the WBCG’s core business areas is to actively promote 21 corridor projects which include a combination of infrastructural, soft infrastructure and support projects with the aim of are aimed at promoting regional integration and to facilitate cross border trade in the SADC region.
