Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Ming (L) and Namibian Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah sign documents at a handover ceremony of Chinese rice in Windhoek, Namibia, on April 4, 2017. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei)

WINDHOEK, April 5 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday officially handed over 4,000 tonnes of rice to Namibia in Windhoek as part of assistance towards the country's drought relief.

The handover was officiated by visiting Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Ming and Namibian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said the drought in Namibia left more than 595,000 people directly or indirectly affected and President Hage Geingob had declared the drought a national emergency.

"This donation we are witnessing is in fact a symbolic one as the large quantity of food is already delivered to the regions and the intended beneficiaries, which is the purpose of the donation," Nandi-Ndaitwah said.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, Namibia's resilience could be strengthened through international cooperation, such as with agricultural projects, and Namibia could learn from Chinese expertise in order to become self-sustainable in food security.

During the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Namibia at the beginning of 2016, China announced a food aid of 4,000 tonnes of rice to Namibia. The first batch of 500 tonnes arrived in Namibia late last December.