By: Patemoshela Lukolo
Namibia is hosting the 2025 Integrated Advanced Course and Exercise on Assistance and Protection Against Chemical Weapons for Anglophone States Parties in Africa.
The week-long training opened on Monday at the Seaside Hotel & Spa in Swakopmund and is organised by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in partnership with the Namibian government.
The opening ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy, Gaudentia Kröhne, who delivered the keynote address, alongside OPCW representative Babatunde Olowookere.
Also present were Diina Nashidengo, Chairperson of the Namibia National Authority and Director of Commerce, officials from the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy, and participants from across Africa.
Kröhne noted the 2023 confirmation by the OPCW of the destruction of all declared chemical weapons stockpiles, achieved 26 years after the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force. She said this demonstrated the importance of cooperation, vigilance, and preparedness.
“In hosting this course once again, Namibia continues to demonstrate its commitment to regional preparedness and international peace,” Kröhne said. She added that Namibia previously hosted the training in Swakopmund in 2022 and in Windhoek in 2024.
Olowookere commended Namibia’s role as a partner of the OPCW and thanked the Ministry of Industries, Mines, and Energy for co-organising the programme.
He said that after the destruction of stockpiles in 2023, the OPCW has shifted focus to preventing re-emergence and to strengthening cooperation, with special attention to Africa.
“The OPCW provides Member States with expert guidance, technical support, and essential resources to safeguard their populations against chemical weapons threats,” Olowookere said.
He explained that the course is part of the 2024–2025 regional cycle under the Assistance and Protection Programme.
Over the next five days, participants will train in personnel protection, detection and sampling, decontamination, operational readiness, and zone management during emergencies. Instructors from Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia will conduct the sessions.
Both Kröhne and Olowookere encouraged participants to apply the lessons in their home institutions and to contribute to the implementation of Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
