João Lourenço traveled to Namibia on Thursday, and was one of the heads of state who attended the ceremony on Friday, where Nandi-Ndaitwah was sworn in as President of Namibia, a rarity on the continent and a historic first for the southern African country, after his victory in the troubled elections at the end of November was confirmed in court.
The 72-year-old woman, from the historic ruling party, was sworn in in Windhoek, during a ceremony in the presence of the heads of state of Angola, South Africa and Tanzania, neighboring countries.
Outgoing President Nangolo Mbumba, 83, handed over power to Nandi-Ndaitwah during the ceremony that took place on the day Namibia celebrates its 35th anniversary of independence.
Applause and cheers rang out as "NNN," as she is known, took the oath of office.
Namibia is seeing one of its "most important daughters break the glass ceiling," Mbumba said.
"I was not elected because I am a woman, but because of my abilities," the new president said during the ceremony, which was also attended by former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Nandi-Ndaitwah expressed during the speech his support for the Palestinians' right to self-determination and called for the lifting of international sanctions against Cuba, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
"This is an important day for Africa. She will continue to be a role model for many other young women and women of all ages," said former South African Vice President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who was also invited to the ceremony.
At the head of this uranium-rich desert country since its independence in 1990, Swapo, the political formation of "NNN", remained in power at the end of a confusing election, which continued overnight and was then officially extended for two more days in some selected polling stations.
The rejection of the opposition's appeal last month allows Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to follow in the footsteps of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was elected president of Liberia in 2006 and became the first female head of state of an African country.
As foreign minister, "NNN" had praised the "historically good relations" with North Korea, a rare comment on the international diplomatic scene.
Another challenge of his mandate: green hydrogen. Namibia's immense solar and wind energy potential makes it an Eldorado in this field, but according to the press, the new president has expressed her doubts about this sector.
At the same time, ongoing exploration missions in the Orange River Basin (southwest) are leading to increasingly numerous discoveries of gas and oil deposits.
These represent a hope of boosting a growth rate of 3.5 percent recorded last year, which largely ignored young people, hit by mass unemployment: 44 percent of young people between 18 and 34 years old were without a job in 2023.
This week, the leader of the historic ruling party reiterated her campaign promise to "create at least 500,000 jobs" in the "next five years".
This objective, in relation to the three million inhabitants of the Namibian country, must be achieved through the investment of 85 billion Namibian dollars in various sectors, such as agriculture, fisheries and creative and sports industries.
"They don't mention where this money will come from," Henning Melber, a researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala (Sweden), told French news agency AFP, noting that the annual budget "already lacks funds for social services, infrastructure, health and education."
