Ministry of international Relations and Cooperation

The Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation (MIRCO), formerly Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was established at Namibia’s Independence in 1990. MIRCO is entrusted with the primary function of formulating, promoting and executing Namibia’s foreign policy and the conduct of Namibia’s international relations. The foundation and guide for MIRCO is the Namibian Constitution, which defines all aspects of state power in Namibia.

Article 96 of the Constitution stipulates five general guidelines which underpin the Government’s commitment to actively promote friendly and beneficial relations and co-operation with other nations, and also to foster, in concert with them, the maintenance of the rule of law, peace, security, social justice and economic welfare, as follows:

  •   Adopt and maintain a policy of non-alignment;
  •   Promote international co-operation, peace and security;
  •   Create and maintain just and mutually beneficial relations among nations;
  •   Foster respect for international law and treaty obligations;
  •   Encourage the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means.

Based on Article 96 of the Namibian Constitution, the Government of Namibia has identified key strategic foreign policy goals and objectives to be pursued by MIRCO, and, at times, in conjunction with the relevant Ministries, offices and agencies. The key strategic foreign policy goals are as follows:

  • Promotion and protection of Namibian’s sovereign, territorial intergrity, national security and social well-being;

  • Promotion and enhancement of Namibian’s prosperity through economic growth and sustainable development;

  • Promotion of International peace and security, regional co-operation, especially through active support, collective initiatives and effective multilateralism;

  • Promotion of Namibian’s and African’s standing and influence in world affairs;

  • Protection of the welfare of Namibian citizen abroad; and

  • The provision of professional and appropriate service to the Government and Private inistitutions and individuals with interests abroad.

In line with the above, the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation is therefore the administrative machinery responsible for the management of the foreign policy of the Republic of Namibia. Its activities and functions are geared towards the formulation, co-ordination and smooth functioning of the policies of Namibia in so far as they involve relations, bilateral and multilateral, with other countries and international organizations.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group

Given the fact that Namibia, as the third-largest producer of uranium in the World, is deeply committed to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and hence to the exclusively peaceful use of its native uranium, NUI works closely with MIRCO on Namibia joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a union of countries that supply nuclear materials, aiming at preventing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. The group was formed in response to India’s nuclear test in 1974, which demonstrated that certain non-weapons specific nuclear technology can be readily turned into weapons development. NSG therefore represents an additional layer of safeguards over and above the IAEA Safeguards regime.

Membership of the NSG will confirm and fortify Namibia’s support of international efforts towards non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and of their delivery vehicles. It would affirm Namibia’s readiness to adhere to the NSG Guidelines, which contain the so-called “Non-Proliferation Principle”, whereby a supplier, authorises a transfer only when satisfied that the transfer would not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The Non-Proliferation Principle seeks to cover the rare but important cases where adherence to the NPT or to a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty may not by itself be a guarantee that a State will consistently share the objectives of the Treaty or that it will remain in compliance with its Treaty obligations.

It is nevertheless noteworthy that the NSG Guidelines are implemented by each Participating Government (PG) in accordance with its national laws and practices. Decisions on export applications are taken at the national level in accordance with national export licensing requirements, and are not dictated by the NSG.

Membership of the NSG will give Namibia additional credentials as a supplier of choice of uranium with a strong commitment to non-proliferation. The NSG at present has 48 member countries, and given the importance of Namibia as one of the largest producers of uranium worldwide, it is highly recommended that Namibia joins this group in order to be able to participate in decisions concerning the coordination of the international nuclear trade and to show the World that Namibia is willing to participate in an absolute transparent process when it comes to nuclear trade.