Prince William pays courtesy visit to Vice President

WINDHOEK, 24 SEP – Britian’s Prince William Arthur Philip Louis paid a courtesy visit to Vice-President Nangolo Mbumba at Old State House on Monday.
The focus of the British royal’s two-day visit is on Namibia’s wildlife and conservation in relation to the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference to be held in London, United Kingdom (UK) on 11 and 12 October 2018.
The conference will bring together global leaders to help eradicate illegal wildlife trade and better protect the world’s most iconic species from the threat of extinction.
Briefing the media after the closed-door meeting, British High Commissioner to Namibia, Kate Airey said Prince William is a patron of the Tusk Trust in the UK, which mission is to amplify the impact of progressive conservation initiatives across Africa.
The Trust also funds various projects and programmes across Namibia, particularly on rhinos.
“He is really here to understand on how Namibia does conservation by involving communities and how the government is supporting programmes on conservation,” said Airey.
At the same occasion, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta said Namibia is trying to create a linkage with international communities on the programmes in place regarding conservation.
“Namibia has very good conservation models which are recorded globally and many countries want to learn from us,” he said.
Shifeta noted that Prince William will be visiting some of the conservation programmes and experience first-hand how the communities are involved and how they are benefiting.
The minister said it is profound that international communities recognise and understand Namibia’s effort on conservation.
“We need much more cooperation with the international community to preserve and present what we have on the planet, given some of the scarce species that can only be found in Namibia,” he said.
This is Prince William’s first official royal visit to Namibia. His brother, Prince Harry was in Namibia in 2015, also in efforts to save the rhino, and their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, was here in 1991.
The Duke of Cambridge will attend an event to celebrate UK and Namibia relations on Tuesday evening at the residence of the British High Commissioner to Namibia, where he will meet key figures working in conservation, business and industry leaders, representatives of the youth and mental health activists from Namibia. – NAMPA