Africa-Press – Namibia. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has called for direct private sector partnerships to unlock meaningful economic gains from a relationship that has long been politically strong, but commercially underperforming.
Speaking during a courtesy meeting on Monday with Russia’s deputy prime minister Yury Trutnev, who led a high-level delegation to Namibia, Nandi-Ndaitwah said the visit reflected a deepening relationship between the two countries.
“I am happy that you found time also to see some parts of Namibia. This, to us, is really showing the strong relationship between our two countries that we continue to always strengthen,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah used the occasion to reaffirm Namibia’s commitment to closer ties with Russia under her administration.
Speaking in the meeting, Trutnev said his delegation included about 30 major companies, signalling a deliberate effort to move beyond State-level agreements.
“Upon your request, we brought with us around three dozen representatives of Russian business, companies with world names. We hope that this visit will be useful, that it will lead to business engagements and to further cooperation,” he said.
Among the companies represented were major players in energy, mining and agriculture, sectors Namibia has identified as key to economic growth and job creation.
Despite steady diplomatic ties, the deputy prime minister acknowledged that trade between the two countries remains minimal.
Current trade between Namibia and Russia is estimated at about US$17 million, largely driven by Russian fertiliser exports.
This is modest, compared to Namibia’s economic potential, with a gross domestic product of about US$30 billion and projected growth of 3.9% in 2025.
“Each year, the cooperation grows, but this growth is not significant over the real numbers. Therefore, it seems to me that we need more decisive actions to really achieve success,” the Russian leader admitted.
Speaking to this reporter on the sidelines, Trutnev pointed to sectors that align with Namibia’s development goals.
“[President Nandi-Ndaitwah] emphasised the energy sector, creating more workplace and the development of the agriculture sector. We will implement all these tasks and goals,” he said.
Speaking after the meeting, international relations minister Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, a Namibian official involved in the bilateral talks, said the recent intergovernmental commission session and business forum marked a turning point.
“We are very happy that we could bring our two private sectors together to explore business opportunities on both sides. That was just an initial interaction, and the two sectors are now going to continue to interact,” she said.
A key outcome of the discussions is the planned establishment of intermediary structures to link companies from both countries and facilitate deals.
“We will have to identify the entity that is going to be at the forefront to be the liaison between our private sector and their private sector,” the minister stated.
Commission
The 11th session of the Namibia-Russia Intergovernmental Commission ended on Monday.
It agreed to expand cooperation through joint ventures, technology transfer and value-addition projects, with a strong focus on increasing private sector participation.
Key sectors identified include energy – particularly nuclear energy for peaceful purposes – mining and mineral beneficiation, agriculture and food security, as well as transport and logistics.
The two sides also committed to improving the investment climate and accelerating negotiations on pending agreements to support faster business engagement.
The Commission further agreed to expand cooperation into new areas such as information and communication technology, space cooperation and public health.
The next session of the Commission will be held in Russia next year to review progress.
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