The Okahandja Municipality and the Maqiao Town in the Minhang District of Shanghai, China, have revived their partnership after 30 years.
The partnership covers waste management, agribusiness and technology, and youth skill development.
The discussion of the revival of the partnership took place during a visit by Namibian media and a think tank in Shanghai, China.
This follows China's and Africa's 70th anniversary and 2026 China-Africa People-to-People Exchange, an initiative that deepens the friendship bond and relations between Africa and China.
Although no agreement was signed, future visits and collaborations formed part of the discussion.
Patricia Hawaes is the Management Committee Chairperson at the Okahandja Municipality.
"What it will do to the town of Okahandja is that it will bring great benefits to the town since we had deliberations on issues that are facing the residents of Okahandja, such as waste management, and the other aspects are the agriculture technology that will be coming from the Maqiao District government and the skills upgrading for the youth in Okahandja for them to upgrade the infrastructure or the road infrastructure in Okahandja. So what it means for us as the councillors in Okahandja is we are actually bringing development to the town, and this agreement of the revival between the two sister cities will be a great benefit to the entire Okahandja."
The party secretary of the Maqiao Town CPC Committee, Zhao Yan, reflected on the 30-year partnership.
"I am here today as we fondly look back at a wonderful moment three decades ago when a special bond between Maqiao and Okahandja Municipality was first formed. In 1996, Sam Nujoma, then President of Namibia, visited Shanghai, and he came to Maqiao. Witnessing the successful cooperation between our areas and rural industries, he personally proposed the establishment of a sister relationship between Okahandja and Maqiao. In June 1998, China's People's Association of Friends of Foreign Countries officially approved our city sister alignment."
The Deputy Mayor of Magiao, Liu Zhongyan, said the two cities can now consider future cooperation in agriculture and crop production technology.
"When we were discussing exchange between agricultural sectors, we talked about the different conditions and how to deal with these conditions as we look forward to future collaborations. In recent years, Maqiao town had a revolutionary change in how we grow crops, for example. We have integrated artificial intelligence technology and modern technologies in our agriculture. "I hope in the future we can complement each other's advantages and make an exchange for agricultural workers so that we can give you our vast technologies, and you can give us your technology based on agricultural conditions as well as means of management and agricultural produce."
The Maqiao Town People's Government administers 18 communities and 9 administrative villages in Minhang District.