Namibia–Poland relations
{{Infobox bilateral relations|Namibia–Poland|Namibia|Poland}}
Namibia–Poland relations are bilateral relations between Namibia and Poland. Both nations enjoy historically good relations, once centered on Polish support for the Namibian struggle for independence and now focused on economic, educational and political cooperation. Both nations are full members of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.
History
In 1905, the Polish press condemned the ongoing German genocide of the Herero people.{{cite magazine|date=18 August 1905|title=Niemcy w Afryce.|magazine=Wielkopolanin|language=pl|location=Poznań|issue=187|page=1}}
Poland supported the Namibian struggle for independence. Poland provided treatment and professional training to SWAPO partisans. Students from Namibia studied social work in Poland.{{cite book|last1=Herbstein|first1=Denis|last2=Evenson|first2=John|year=1989|title=The Devils are Among Us. The War for Namibia|location=London and New Jersey|page=48|isbn=0-86232-896-9}} Libertina Amathila attended and graduated the Medical University of Warsaw in Poland, becoming the first Namibian female physician, and later also Deputy-Prime Minister of independent Namibia.{{cite web|url=https://neweralive.na/posts/dr-libertine-inaviposa-amathila-the-first-namibian-women-physician-and-deputy-prime-minister-1940|title=Dr. Libertine Inaviposa Amathila - The first Namibian Women Physician and Deputy Prime -Minister (1940…)|website=New Era Live|access-date=9 January 2024}} Sam Nujoma, leader of SWAPO and future first President of Namibia, visited Poland in 1977 and 1981. A Polish military contingent participated in the United Nations Transition Assistance Group peacekeeping mission in Namibia from April 1989 to March 1990.{{cite magazine|last=Ciechanowski|first=Grzegorz|year=2009|title=Polskie Kontyngenty Wojskowe pod flagą ONZ – zamknięty rozdział|magazine=Bezpieczeństwo. Teoria i Praktyka|publisher=Oficyna Wydawnicza AFM|language=pl|issue=3–4|page=62|issn=1899-6264}} The Polish contingent was stationed in Grootfontein and Windhoek and oversaw an area of about {{convert|320000|km2|0}}, one of the most densely populated in Namibia.{{cite magazine|last=Popławski|first=Błażej|year=2023|title=Obserwatorzy, uczestnicy operacji humanitarnej, eksperci i specjaliści z dziedziny logistyki. Udział Polaków w misjach pokojowych w Afryce Subsaharyjskiej w okresie PRL|magazine=Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość|volume=1 |language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=IPN|issue=41|pages=140–141|issn=1427-7476}} On 21 March 1990, Namibia finally proclaimed independence, which was recognized by Poland on the same day, and diplomatic relations were also established on that day.{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.pl/web/southafrica/namibia|title=Namibia|website=Gov.pl website|access-date=9 December 2023}}
Modern relations
File:Hotel fort warszawa 3.jpg]]
Polish Professor Grzegorz Kopij, an ornithologist from the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, was the head of Namibia's first wildlife department at the University of Namibia in Windhoek.{{cite magazine|last1=Nowak|first1=Danuta|last2=Hładkiewicz|first2=Wiesław|year=2015|title=University of Namibia|magazine=Uniwersytet Zielonogórski|language=pl|location=Zielona Góra|issue=4-5 (224-225)|page=19|issn=1644-7867}}
In 2022, during a visit in Namibia, Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński declared Poland's support for Namibian efforts to seek reparations from Germany for the Herero and Namaqua genocide of 1904–1908.{{cite web|url=https://gospodarka.dziennik.pl/news/artykuly/8601845,polska-namibia-reparacje-niemcy.html|title=Polska wspiera Namibię w "walce o zadośćuczynienie za niemieckie zbrodnie"|website=Dziennik.pl|date=3 December 2022|access-date=9 December 2023|language=pl}} In 2023, Uria Nandiuasora Mazeingo, chairman of the Ovaherero Genocide Foundation, and David Hanse, chief of the ǃKharakhoen Nama clan, were guests at a convention in Warsaw alongside Polish and Greek representatives to discuss efforts to seek war reparations from Germany for the crimes it committed in Namibia, Poland and Greece.{{cite web|url=https://wpolityce.pl/historia/649213-wodz-z-namibii-walczymy-o-reparacje-i-odzyskanie-godnosci|title=Wódz z Namibii podczas Kongresu Polska Wielki Projekt: Nadal walczymy o reparacje i odzyskanie naszej godności|website=wPolityce.pl|date=3 June 2023|access-date=9 December 2023|language=pl}}
Diplomatic missions
- Namibia is accredited to Poland from its embassy in Berlin, and there is an honorary consulate of Namibia in Warsaw.
- Poland is accredited to Namibia from its embassy in Pretoria.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Foreign relations of Namibia}}
{{Foreign relations of Poland}}
{{Portal bar|Politics|Poland}}