The mayor of the harbour city of Houston, Texas, accompanied by a high-level delegation of the Houston Port Authority, whisked into Namibia last weekend to sign two agreements at Walvis Bay and to see President Sam Nujoma at Lüderitzbucht on Sunday. Briefing Prime Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab and several Cabinet ministers on Monday about their discussions, Mayor Lee Brown said the City of Houston wanted to support NamPort in its efforts to expand the port of Walvis Bay, support training of Namibian port officials in various fields at the Houston harbour and even establish an oil refinery at Walvis Bay. According to Mayor Brown, Houston had a corporate university, funded by the City, where city government management and airport management were held. He offered training to Namibians in those fields. Agreements with the Walvis Bay municipality and NamPort were signed last Saturday at the harbour town. The US mayor further asked for a consulate or at least an economic diplomat from Namibia to be dispatched to Houston to pursue the bilateral cooperation. Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amathila noted that the Namibian government intended to establish a development bank and was looking for equity partners. Foreign Affairs Minister Hidipo Hamutenya said offered to visit Houston while travelling to the UN general assembly meeting in New York next week. The photo shows Houston Mayor Lee Brown (left) with Prime Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab.