About the High Commission
The Embassy of the Republic of Namibia was established in July 2010 as the 163rd UN Member State, accredited to the United Nations Office at Geneva as well as to other international organisations and agencies represented in Geneva.
The United Nations is currently made up of 193 Member States, of which 176 permanent missions are accredited to the United Nations Office at Geneva. The United Nations system includes a large number of intergovernmental organisations, specialised agencies, programmes, funds, offices and research institutes as well as related organisations. Two thirds of the activities of the United Nations system take place in Geneva, making it a key centre of international co-operation and multilateral negotiation. This is one of the reasons that the city is often referred to as “International Geneva”.
Around 9,500 staff work for the United Nations family in Geneva, which is the largest concentration of United Nations personnel in the world. They are active in many of the major fields of work of the United Nations, including health; labour; intellectual property; human rights; humanitarian action and disaster relief; economic, trade and development activities; disarmament efforts; science and technology; as well as research and training.
The Embassy of Namibia in Geneva is also accredited to Switzerland since March 2014. The mission is staffed by seven Namibian officials and five locally recruited staff members.
- To promote, strengthen and maintain the bilateral relations between Namibia and countries the Mission is accredited to.
- To protect the national interest of Namibia as defined in the Constitution, Vision 2030, National Development Plans, and the Harambee Prosperity Plan
- To promote Namibia’s Foreign Policy as defined under Article 96 of Namibia Constitution.
- Advance economic, cultural, technical and scientific interests.
Economic cooperation: Switzerland is a highly developed country with a stable economy. Public transportation, energy and water management are some of the sectors, that Namibia could engage in with Switzerland in order to exchange expertise in related fields. Switzerland offers many opportunities to Namibia. We established good contacts with the Geneva Chambre of Commerce and Industry. The Mission is a member of the Swiss-Africa Business Circle (SABC), which organises on a regular basis Africa Business Days. Namibia as a member of the Southern African Customs Union benefits from the free trade agreement concluded by SACU with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of which Switzerland is a member. Trade between the two countries is conducted, in part, through South Africa. According to Swiss customs statistics, exports to Switzerland originating from Namibia amounted to CHF 2.9 million in 2010, and consisted principally of agricultural products and raw materials. Imports from Switzerland amounted to CHF 6.2 million, for the most part in the form of machinery. Namibia’s mineral resources have also attracted certain large commodity groups headquartered in Switzerland.
Tourism: 15 500 Swiss tourists traveled to Namibia during 2015 (plus 8.8% compared to the previous year).