President Halonen to visit Namibia and South Africa

Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
Press Release 11 February 2011

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen and Dr Pentti Arajärvi will visit Namibia and South Africa on 21–25 February 2011.

During the state visit to Namibia on 21–23 February President Halonen will meet President Hifikepunye Pohamba for official talks on bilateral relations and current regional and international affairs. President Halonen will also familiarise herself with the work of non-governmental organisations.

On the last day of the state visit President Halonen will visit the town of Ondangwa in northern Namibia, where she will visit a school founded by Finns and a hospital that is being restored by Finns.

Historically, relations between Finland and Namibia have been friendly and close. Finnish missionaries settled in northern Namibia as early as the 1870s, and Finnish non-governmental organisations have a history of active operations in the country. For a long time Namibia was one of Finland’s development cooperation partners; the increase in Namibia’s GDP has shifted the focus from bilateral development cooperation towards institutional partnership in mining, energy and education, among others.

From Namibia President Halonen will travel to Cape Town, South Africa, for a meeting of the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability on 24–25 February. President Halonen co-chairs the panel together with the President of the Republic of South Africa Jacob Zuma.

President Halonen and Dr Arajärvi are to return to Finland on Saturday, 26 February.