Rwandan Prime Minister, Edouard Ngirente, on Wednesday March 29, 2023 met with Lukas Sinimbo Muha, Chairperson of the National Council of Namibia, to discuss strengthening parliamentary diplomacy between the two countries.
The discussions centered on shared experiences in the functions of the executive and legislative branches of both countries.
During their deliberations, the Namibian officials were particularly interested in learning how Rwanda’s parliament operates, and how senators and deputies represent their constituents. They also discussed the National Dialogue Council, commonly known as Umushyikirano, decentralization, and other related topics.
In an interview with media after the talks, Sinimbo Muha said, “We are from Parliament so, during our discussions we compared notes as to how parliament is operating here, its affairs. And how affairs of similar nature are also done in Namibia.”
He further mentioned that they had learned a lot, especially on the processes of accountability, and that they would be taking these lessons back home.
This visit is an opportunity for the two countries to strengthen their relationship and collaborate where there is a need for supporting each other, Senator John Bonds Bideri said in a media interview.
“It becomes easier to associate when you have a relationship, so in this case, I would say the visit of the International Council of Namibia to Rwanda is an opportunity for us to build a relationship and corroborate in different ways in terms of what we do and what they do,” he said.
Bideri said, The Namibian officials are here for benchmarking, and there is a lot that they can learn from Rwanda, giving them an opportunity to strengthen the functioning of their own institutions by learning some of the best practices that the country has established.
“This visit not only strengthens the relationship between the two countries, but it also provides an opportunity for the officials to learn from each other and to identify areas of collaboration.
It is an excellent example of how parliamentary diplomacy can be used to build relationships between countries and share experiences for mutual benefit,” he said.
The Namibian officials arrived in Rwanda on March 27, and were welcomed by Senate President François Xavier Kalinda.
They also exchanged ideas with Rwanda Senate Vice Presidents Esperance Nyirasafari and Dr. Alvera Mukabaramba on the functioning of both parliaments and how to enhance parliamentary diplomacy.
The Namibian Chairperson of the National Council also paid his respects to genocide victims at the Kigali Genocide Memorial and learned about the origins of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi and how it was halted
Earlier on Tuesday, March 28, the Namibian delegates were hosted by Donatille Mukabalisa, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and they commended the good relations between both countries and discussed ways to strengthen parliamentary diplomacy, among others.
They also toured the Museum for Campaign Against Genocide and witnessed Rwanda’s pathways to resilience in the post-genocide period.
