Africa-Press – Namibia. NAMIBIAN companies have been urged to emulate the example of hard work from the state of Texas, which is the largest exporter in the United States, with US$350 billion exports annually.
This is the advice of Robert Braubach, the honourary consul of Namibia in Texas, whose role is to help promote Namibia in the US.
Braubach was attending the Namibia-US trade forum held in Windhoek on Wednesday.
“Exports create jobs. There is good finance and capital available in Texas. We can help Namibian companies to develop and promote exports,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
“I help establish Namibia as a recognised country for tourism, for trade and for investment and assist with delegations from Namibia coming to Texas, and help bring prospective investors to Namibia, so we can develop a cross-border relationship.”
He said Texas had implemented good programmes to teach small and medium scale enterprises how to export goods, which Namibians can learn from.
Braubach said Texas relates well to Namibia because agriculture is also an important part of the Texas economy.
“About 17% of the GDP of Texas is agriculture related of which cattle is important. Also important for Texas is hunting and conservation, which are important to Namibia too.
“The Namibian government comes to the Dallas Safari Convention held in January each year. This is the largest hunting convention in the US and it is a good platform for Texas hunters to connect with Namibians and book hunts,” he said.
These hunters are also business people and investors who would look at other areas for investments in Namibia like hotels, safaris and farms, Braubach added.
“I saw at the business forum that many small Namibian companies want to export to the US but do not know how to go about it. They can learn from the Texas example where there are export assistance programmes.
“About 90% of the US$350 billion Texas exports go to Mexico, and 10% to Europe and Africa. If Texas exports that much to Mexico, we can increase exports to Africa.
“I think it is important that Namibia enters as many free trade agreements as possible to help increase exports.
“Namibia is already a member of the Southern African Customs Union and the Southern African Development Community, as well as many other Africa free trade agreements. These would help. International tax agreements are important because investors need to see favourable tax environments. Namibia does not have a tax agreement with the US, but this is an area that needs to be looked at,” he said.
Braubach said one of the challenges Namibia faces is following up on agreements and maintaining contact with business counterparts in Texas, as at times Namibians take too long to respond to communication.
“While this is improving with the use of platforms like Zoom, we need to implement more follow ups.”
He said the sister city agreements Windhoek has with San Antonio and Richmond are important vehicles for development.
“The US cities send water engineers and other experts to work with and advise Windhoek, which has created important cross-border exchange of expertise and skills.”
Braubach said Covid-19 had affected every industry in the world including airlines, hotels and conventions, however, business was picking up.
“We have not had the business forum for two years because of Covid, and the Barry county in Texas is working on a big donation of medical supplies to Namibia.”
Braubach said his role does not duplicate that of the Namibia ambassador to the United States, Margaret Mensah-Williams, but complements it.
“My role is in complete harmony with the embassy in Washington DC and I work under the direction of the embassy.
“Many people did not know what Namibia is, where it is or that it is a country in southern Africa until we established a relationship between the cities of San Antonio and Windhoek,” he said.
“I have a law firm specialising in business law and international real estate law. I am also registered in the Czech Republic, so I have a good working knowledge of international investment rules, taxation rules and the formation of companies which are useful when dealing with a prospective investor looking at Namibia.
“You have to be able to answer questions regarding international tax treaties, so my legal practice is useful in this respect.
“We also have a tennis foundation and a basketball team, through which we want to help Namibian sport grow,” he added.
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