MoS Muraleedharan visits Namibian High Commission, condoles demise of President Geingob

New Delhi [India], February 7 : The Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, visited the Namibian High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday to offer condolences on the passing away of the President of Namibia, Hage G. Geingob.
Condoling the Namibian leader's demise, the MoS noted that he was a "dear friend" of India.
"Visited the Namibian High Commission in New Delhi to express condolences on the sad demise of Dr. Hage G Geingob, President of Namibia," Muraleedharan wrote on X.
He said that Geingob's contribution to bolstering the ties between the two nations will always be remembered.
"He was a dear friend of India and his contributions towards strengthening the India-Namibia relationship will always be remembered," the MoS wrote on X.
https://x.com/MOS_MEA/status/1754885237648359795?s=20
President Geingob passed away on February 4, 2024, at the age of 82, in the capital of Namibia. The Lok Sabha gathering expressed deep condolences for the late leader, extending sympathies to his family. Speaker Birla also conveyed solidarity from the Indian government to the citizens of Namibia.
As a mark of respect, the parliamentary gathering observed a moment of silence in honour of the late President Hage G. Geingob.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar also expressed condolences on the death of Namibia's late President.
Dhankhar mentioned that the Namibian President dedicated his entire life to the welfare of his people and the development of his country. "President Geingob was a friend of India. President Geingob's role in facilitating the relocation of eight Namibian Cheetahs to India in September 2022 is greatly admired."
On behalf of this House, the Chairman said, "We express our "deepest condolences to the government and the people of Namibia. We share our sympathies with his family, friends and admirers. "
Geingob, 82, died in the hospital early on Sunday, weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer. Geingob had been in charge of the thinly populated and mostly arid southern African country since 2015, the year he announced he had survived prostate cancer.
Born in 1941, Geingob has been a prominent politician since before Namibia achieved independence from white minority-ruled South Africa in 1990. He chaired the body that drafted Namibia's constitution, then became its first prime minister at independence on March 21 of that year, a position he retained until 2002.
In 2007, Geingob became Vice President of the governing South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), which he had joined as an agitator for independence when Namibia was still known as South West Africa.
Geingob served as trade and industry minister before becoming prime minister again in 2012. He won the 2014 election with 87 per cent of the vote but only narrowly avoided a runoff with a little more than half the votes in a subsequent poll in November 2019.