The story ‘Under Cheetah deal, sought India’s support on lifting ivory ban: Namibia’ published by Indian Express on 13th October, 2022 largely relies on speculation, hearsay and not on facts.
Though the agreement signed between the Government of the Republic of Namibia and Government of the Republic of India includes ‘wildlife conservation and sustainable biodiversity utilization’ as one of the areas of cooperation, this cannot be construed as support for lifting the ban on trade in endangered species.
The Government of India has not received any written communication from the Republic of Namibia regarding lifting of ban on ivory trade. As sovereign countries both India and Namibia will evaluate their positions on sustainable biodiversity utilization within the ambit of agreement based on the principles of mutual respect, sovereignty, equality and in the best interest of the parties.