SOCIETY 375

SOCIETY
A young State with
many Prospects
H.E. Nada Kruger, Ambassador of Namibia
told SOCIETY about the current developments
in Namibia, the country’s history and
its relations with Austria.
You are the Ambassador of Namibia
to Austria since the beginning of
this year. How big is the Namibian
community here in Austria and how
is the Embassy connected with the
members?
There are 43 Namibians registered
at our Embassy and we are trying to
interact with them as a community.
In March for example, when we
celebrated our 29th anniversary of
independence, I invited them all to
our residence and used this opportunity
to introduce myself as their new
Ambassador. This gave me the chance
to interact and celebrate together with
them, which was lovely. Apart from
this and like any Embassy, we provide
consular services to the Namibians
living abroad.
What is your professional background
and what are your main objectives for
your term?
I am in the Namibian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, later renamed to
Ministry of International Relations
and Cooperation, since 1994. This is
actually my second time in Austria,
from 2000 until 2005, I served as First
Secretary to Austria. This is my first
post as Ambassador, before this, I was
working in the head office in Windhoek
as well as on diplomatic assignment in
Geneva and Stockholm. It is very interesting
to come back to a country for
a second time – I think it is a little bit
easier to settle down because I know
the place and the lifestyle already. In
terms of my objectives, the Namibian
policy on international relations and
cooperation clearly points out that our
focus lays on economic diplomacy, so
we are trying to encourage businesses
and investments in our country. In
general, the topics have changed a
lot since I was here the last time. The
environment plays a much bigger role
nowadays, but also the financial and
geopolitical situations have changed.
What connects Austria with Namibia
and what are the biggest differences
you observed so far?
In general, we maintain very good
relations with Austria. Both of us
are touristic countries but for very
different reasons. Right now, we are
trying to promote tourism and also
businesses on an international level.
Our Embassy here in Vienna is serving
not only on the bilateral but also on
the multilateral level and finding
the balance between these two is
difficult sometimes. Nevertheless,
together with Austria, we are working
on projects for renewable energy and
capacity building. We also have a very
strong Austrian-Namibian friendship
association here in Vienna, which is
very active, and we regularly interact
and work with them.
Do you think that female Ambassadors
have a much different approach
on their work than their male counterparts
do?
Generally, I do not think that they have
a different approach. However, I think
men are more career oriented while
women have a more holistic approach.
Women are very inclusive and they
want to bring everyone on board. I
think that men and women nowadays
are equals. For me, the skill set of
a person is more important, which
can be influenced by many different
factors like the environment you grow
up in, education etc. All of this contributes
to how we approach things.
Nevertheless, when we have family,
female Ambassadors have to face a
“double challenge” as we have to manage
our family life and the Embassy
at the same time. Luckily, I have a very
supportive husband who is here with
Foto: SOCIETY/Prokofieff
WOMEN AMBASSADORS
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