Ndaitwah challenges Russia-Africa ties to create youth jobs

Patience Makwele

First Gentleman Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah has challenged Russia and African countries to turn their longstanding relations into practical opportunities for young people, warning that many have qualifications but no jobs, ideas but no capital, and talent but no networks.

Speaking at the opening of the Russia-Africa Youth Forum at MGIMO University in Moscow on Wednesday, Ndaitwah said young people should be treated as partners in current development efforts rather than leaders of the future.

“This week, leaders meet in Moscow for the Third Russia-Africa Summit, under the theme For Peace, Security and Development. They will sign agreements. But agreements on paper only become real when people carry them forward,” he said.

Ndaitwah said education, entrepreneurship, logistics, new media, artificial intelligence, women’s leadership and diplomacy could create opportunities for young Africans and Russians.

He called for stronger links between universities in Russia and Africa, including joint research to address challenges in water, energy, health and agriculture.

“Let us go further: link our universities, so that a student in Moscow and a student in Windhoek can research together and solve real problems in water, energy, health and agriculture,” he said.

He also called for young entrepreneurs to benefit more directly from trade between the two regions, arguing that commercial opportunities should not be limited to large companies.

“Trade between our continents should not belong only to large companies. Young entrepreneurs can carry goods, services and ideas in both directions,” Ndaitwah said.

On technology, he urged African countries to develop their own capacity in artificial intelligence rather than relying solely on tools developed elsewhere.

“Africa must not only consume new tools like artificial intelligence. Our young people must design and build them,” he said.

Ndaitwah also highlighted the role of education in strengthening relations between Russia and Africa, saying more than 37 000 young Africans currently study at Russian universities.

He said Namibia had benefited from educational and professional training in Russia, with Namibian doctors, engineers, teachers and officers trained in the country now serving the nation.

The First Gentleman linked the relationship between Namibia and Russia to the liberation struggle, recalling that he left Namibia in 1974 to join SWAPO in exile and underwent military training in Simferopol in 1977.

He said diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1990, the year Namibia gained independence.

Ndaitwah further noted that more than 71% of Namibia’s population was under the age of 35, according to the 2023 census, describing the country’s youthful population as both an opportunity and a responsibility.

“A young population is a blessing only when young people can learn, work, create and lead,” he said.