Watch| Modi, Modi Echoes in Namibian Parliament as PM Wins Hearts with Address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received thunderous applause and 'Modi, Modi' chants when he commenced his address to the Joint Sitting of Namibian Parliament on Wednesday, a moment that underscored the warmth and hospitality of his African hosts.

This is the third time within a week that the Indian Prime Minister has addressed a foreign legislature.

On July 3, PM Modi made a historic speech to a special meeting of the Ghanaian Parliament, the first Indian prime minister to do so.

The meeting, which was hosted by the Parliamentary Speaker of Ghana, was joined by parliamentarians, top officials, and distinguished guests from both nations. The occasion was an emblem of the deepening partnership and democratic values shared between India and Ghana.

Only one day after, on July 4, Modi spoke at the Joint Assembly of Trinidad & Tobago's Parliament, having been invited by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate. This event, also, was a first — no Indian Prime Minister had ever addressed the legislative houses of T&T before. The visit was welcomed universally as a giant leap forward in strengthening diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Prime Minister Modi has now set a record for the most foreign parliament addresses by an Indian Prime Minister. With Namibia added to the list, his count is 16 — well more than his predecessors: Manmohan Singh (7), Indira Gandhi (4), Jawaharlal Nehru (3), Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Rajiv Gandhi (2 each), and P.V. Narasimha Rao and Morarji Desai (1 each).

Earlier during the day, PM Modi had a meeting with Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah in Windhoek, where the two President saw the signing of two important Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs). One MoU will result in the setting up of an Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Namibia, and the other is about cooperation in health and medicine. These agreements were part of PM Modi’s one-day State Visit — the first such visit by an Indian Prime Minister in nearly three decades.

The two countries also celebrated a series of new milestones in their relationship. Namibia has joined both the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuels Alliance — significant moves that underline shared global goals. Another significant breakthrough emerged in the digital front, as Namibia became the first country in Africa to implement India's UPI (Unified Payments Interface) technology. A complete digital payments system is to be launched in Namibia later this year, after signing a pact between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Bank of Namibia in April 2024.

As he arrived at the State House in Windhoek, PM Modi was given a ceremonial welcome by President Nandi-Ndaitwah. The visit was also historic in the sense that it was the first official bilateral State Visit to be hosted by President Nandi-Ndaitwah in office, which she took in March.

In their bilateral talks, both the leaders stressed the age-old relationship between the two countries. PM Modi congratulated Namibian President on her recent victory in elections and offered condolences on the demise of Namibia's Founding Father, Dr. Sam Nujoma, earlier this year.

The conversation between the two leaders also centered on building cooperation in some of the most important areas, ranging from defence to marine security, agriculture, digital technology like UPI, pharmaceuticals, health, energy, and strategic minerals.