Press Releases

The President of the Republic, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, received the credentials of the Ambassador of Namibia, Mrs Nada Kruger, during a formal ceremony held at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, October 29, 2020.

Presenting her credentials, Ambassador Kruger said:

“Your Excellency,

It is my distinct honour to bring to you warm greetings from the President, the Government and people of the Republic of Namibia, and to present to your Excellency the Letter of Recall of my Predecessor and the Letter of Credence by which His Excellency Dr. Hage G. Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, has appointed me to be the next High Commissioner Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Namibia to the Republic of Cyprus.

Representing Namibia in Cyprus will be an honor and a privilege for me, and I intend to serve with determination towards strengthening the existing bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of our two countries and peoples. Furthermore, there may be opportunity to concentrate on the similarities between our two countries, of which the tourism sector would be a case in point.  Both our countries enjoy unique natural beauty. Regrettably, as we are battling the COVID-19 pandemic, this is one of the sectors most severely affected, with immense consequences for the economy and jobs in Namibia.

As an active member of the international community, Namibia further looks forward towards working with Cyprus on issues of mutual interest in the multilateral arena.  While the COVID-19 pandemic has brought economic turndowns on a global scale, it is our view that multilateralism must continue to be the vehicle towards achieving our development goals and to "build back better".
 
Lastly, on behalf of my delegation and indeed on my own behalf I wish to express most sincere appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Cyprus for the hospitality extended to my delegation and myself since our arrival in the beautiful city of Nicosia.

I wish Your Excellency, success and good health as you continue to lead the people of Cyprus to prosperity, peace and development.

Thank you very much”.

Receiving the credentials, the President of the Republic said:

“Your Excellency,

It is with distinct pleasure that I receive today your Letters of Credence, appointing you as the new Ambassador of the Republic of Namibia to the Republic of Cyprus. I would like to wish you every success in performing your noble mission and to assure you that my Government will provide you with every possible assistance you may need in the performance of your high duties.

The fact that our two countries are members of a number of important international organizations, in particular the United Nations and the Commonwealth, adds additional impetus to our efforts to strengthen the links through close cooperation on important issues. Our relationship goes back to when our two countries gained their independence.
 
My Government looks forward to working closely with you, Excellency, to further strengthen our close bilateral relations, and in pursuit of this goal, we stand ready to explore new areas of mutually beneficial collaboration. I am sure that we will manage to make genuine progress in various areas of cooperation in which there is reciprocal interest. In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic we all strive for a return to normality. These difficult times have underlined the need for strongest multilateral cooperation, to respond to the current global health crisis and the resultant socio-economic shocks.

As an EU member state, Cyprus remains committed to the enhancement of the political dialogue and cooperation with Namibia, especially in effectively dealing with today’s common challenges, such as climate change, migration, human rights, the implementation of international law and the fight against terrorism. The EU-Africa partnership offers us an important avenue to work together in order to promote common values and principles at regional and international level.

Your Excellency,

Our priority remains none other than addressing the unacceptable current state of affairs with the continuing Turkish occupation of 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, since there is no doubt that lasting peace and stability can only be achieved through the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.

Cyprus highly values Namibia’s principled stance on the Cyprus Issue and your country’s consistent support to our efforts to reach a lasting solution which would safeguard the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, without any third country dependencies, military troops and guarantees.

Regrettably, Turkey’s illegal drilling operations within our Exclusive Economic Zone run contrary to the necessity of having a good and positive climate that will enable the resumption of the negotiating process under the auspices of the United Nations. These Turkish actions have been strongly condemned by the international community and the EU, since they infringe upon the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus and do not comply with International Law, particularly so the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the principles of good neighbourly relations. Apart from escalating tensions in our turbulent region, the illegal and provocative actions by Turkey not only adversely affect our efforts to resume the peace process but they leave no room for bringing about the necessary conditions for all parties to engage in a results-oriented dialogue.  We do hope that Turkey will finally chose to adopt a more pragmatic and constructive approach and abide by International Law.

Moreover, we are gravely concerned by Turkey’s decision for the opening of the fenced city of Varosha, in yet another flagrant violation of UN decisions. The UN Secretary General has already expressed apprehension over this decision which in his own words might as well “heighten tensions and undermine chances for a resumption of peace talks”. On our side, we call upon Turkey to fully abide by pertinent UN Security Council Resolutions, which call for the return and resettlement of Varosha by its rightful and lawful inhabitants and abandon any plans that are in clear violation of the 1979 High-Level Agreement between the Leaders of the two communities, as well as UN Security Council Resolutions 414 (1970), 442 (1980), 550 (1984) and 789 (1992).

Following the UN Secretary-General’s new initiative, I wish to reiterate once again that I remain strongly committed to resuming the negotiating process. But for the talks to resume with realistic prospects for success, it is imperative to create an environment which will be conducive for constructive and good faith negotiations. And certainly not under conditions of intimidation or threats by Turkey.

Your Excellency,

In welcoming you to Cyprus, I would kindly request you to convey to His Excellency, President Hage Geingob, and to the friendly people of the Republic of Namibia my warmest greetings and a message of sincere friendship and solidarity”.

(ND/SCH)