PM Modi honoured with Namibia’s Highest Civilian Honour in Windhoek

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the highest civilian award of Namibia -Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis during his first State visit to Namibia.

This was the fourth civilian award conferred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to five countries - Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia- from 2-9 July 2025. 

Except Argentina, all four countries have conferred their highest civilian award on Prime Minister Modi.

Prime Minister Modi visited Namibia on 9th July 2025, where he held a state-level meeting with Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and addressed the Namibian Parliament. Two agreements /memorandum of understanding were signed between the two countries during the visit.

Highlights of PM Modi's visit to Namibia 

The Prime Minister arrived in Namibia on a one-day State visit on 9 July 2025 after his successful visit to Brazil.

• This was his first State visit to Namibia after becoming the Prime Minister of India. 
• He is the third Indian Prime Minister to visit Namibia after Vishwanath Pratap Singh in 1990 and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998.
• After 27 years, an Indian Prime Minister visited Namibia in 2025.

Highest Civilian Award of Namibia 

• Prime Minister was conferred Namibia’s Highest civilian award-Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis, in a ceremony in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
• PM Modi is the first Indian to receive the honour.

PM Address to Namibian Parliament and a record

Prime Minister Modi addressed the Parliament of Namibia. Namibia has a bicameral Parliament with a popularly elected lower house, the National Assembly, and the upper house, the National Council.

• During his five-nation State visit, the Prime Minister addressed the Parliament of Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago and Namibia.
• This was the 17th National Parliament to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since becoming the Prime Minister of India.
• Dr Manomhan Singh addressed 7 National Parliament, Indira Gandhi (4), Jawaharlal Nehru (3), Rajiv Gandhi (2) and PV Narasimha Rao (1).

Meeting With the Namibian President and MoUs

Prime Minister Modi was accorded a warm official welcome at Windhoek by the Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. She is the first female President of Namibia.

Both leaders held delegation-level talks and discussed bilateral and global issues of importance.

Two MoUs were signed between the two countries.

• India will help Namibia in setting up the Entrepreneurship Development Centre.
• Cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine

Namibia first country to adopt the UPI system 

• The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has signed a licensing agreement with the Namibian Central Bank for the use of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) by Namibia for real-time payment.
• NPCI has developed the mobile-based instant payment system UPI.
• Namibia is the first country in the world to use the UPI system for its domestic payment system.

Namibia Joins CDRI and GBA 

Namibia also joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Fuel Alliance (GBA). 

CDRI

The CDRI was established in 2019 by the government of India with the support of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).

It is a partnership of the government,United Nations agencies, the private sector, academic institutions and multilateral banks.

It aims to promote sustainable development by developing technology and systems for an infrastructure system that is resilient to climate and disaster risks.

GBA 

The Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) was launched by PM Modi along with the leaders of the US, Argentina, Brazil, Italy,  Bangladesh, Singapore, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on September 9 2023, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.

It seeks to promote the use of biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels 

India to help Namibia fight Malaria and cooperation in Defence

• During Prime Minister Modi's visit, Namibia requested Indian assistance in combating the malaria problem, which is endemic during the rainy season in the country.
• India will supply malaria medicine and malaria diagnostic kits to Namibia.
• India has also agreed to supply defence equipment, including simulators, infrastructure, and information technology (IT) equipment, for their defence training school. 

India-Namibia Relations 

India was one of the first countries in the world to support the Namibian struggle for Independence led by its charismatic leader, Sam Nujoma.

The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), which led the Namibian freedom struggle, opened its first embassy in the world in India in 1984.

After its independence in 1990, diplomatic relations were established between the two countries.

Namibia is rich in diamonds, uranium, tin, lithium, lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, tungsten, and silver.

The bilateral trade between the two countries in 2024-25 was $ 568 million. India's exports were at $327 million, and imports from Namibia were $241 million.

About Namibia 

Location - Southwestern coast of Africa.

It was a colony of Germany and then became a colony of South Africa.

It gained independence from South Africa in 1990.

During colonial times, it was known as South West Africa, and after gaining independence, it was renamed Namibia.

Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in Africa, with a population of about 30 lakhs.

Namib and Kalahari deserts are found in the country.

Capital:  Windhoek

Currency: Namibian Dollar

President: Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

For details about PM Modi's visit to Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, and Brazil, read