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It is my distinct honour and privilege to join you at this important business forum. I wish to thank the Commonwealth Business Council and the Namibian High Commission to the United Kingdom for organizing this Business Roundtable on Namibia. In the same vein, I commend De Beers and Rio Tinto for their generous sponsorship. I also wish to express my sincere appreciation to the business executives from the United Kingdom and Namibia present here. The Government of Namibia places great importance on domestic and foreign investments. In this connection, the presence of high level business executives from Namibia and the United Kingdom is therefore most appreciated and valued. It is my sincere hope that you will use the forum to network and establish mutually beneficial business linkages. This forum comes at the time when Namibia is intensifying her efforts to expand and diversify her industrial base and competitiveness at regional and global levels. As such, it is the intention of my delegation to showcase Namibia as a reliable trading partner and an attractive location for investment as well as a country with unique and contrasting beauty and sceneries for tourists from the United Kingdom and beyond. Director of Ceremonies We live in rapidly changing times. The world is gripped in the sweeping wave of globalization, which by its very nature is already defining the character of world trade and the manner of doing business. Globalisation requires that nations think regionally and globally and sharpen their productive capacity and competitiveness. For Namibia and many other developing economies to successfully compete in the global economy, their economies must be encouraged on the path of growth through increased investments, transfer of technology and skills as well as easy market access. Though Namibia is little known, it is a country that holds immense treasures most of which is still to be discovered and tapped. We have developed an excellent reputation as an all-round investment location as evident in our high ratings by several independent experts who have conducted assessments of economic performance and governance on the African continent. Beyond the economic environment, we in Namibia pride ourselves in being one of the most vibrant democracies on the African continent. We adopted a Constitution that contains a bill of fundamental rights, including the right to private property and which ensures the centrality of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Our democracy is working. Reconciliation has facilitated the process of healing and our peace is real. The stability of our political system has freed Government and private sector to focus on the imperatives of economic development and growth. This stability and the investor friendly policy and regulatory framework that we have adopted have served to build investor confidence in our economy and country. De Beers, Rio Tinto, Pescanova, Skorpion Zinc, the Leading Lodges of Africa, Olthaver & List Group and other Namibian business executives present here can certainly testify to this. Director of Ceremonies Namibia offers abundant investment opportunities in sectors such as manufacturing, mining, energy, agriculture, tourism, fishing and services. Opportunities exist for the exploitation of local resource, such as:
It is my understanding that specific projects have been submitted to the participants of the forum. I wish to urge you to seriously consider them. My Minister of Trade & Industry and other Namibian Government officials are here to provide any further information that you may need to make an informed investment decision. Director of Ceremonies The Namibian economy is predominantly reliant on the primary sector. However as a country, we have long realized that we cannot effectively compete in this age of globalization if we continue to rely on export of raw materials. Our limited industrial base and export capacity also hampers us from taking full advantage of the benefits offered through trade liberalization and special trade arrangements such as those anticipated from the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union. To this end, deliberate measures and incentives have been put in place to promote manufacturing, local value addition and exports. Director of Ceremonies I am happy to recognize the benefits from the huge investments made by various national and multinational corporations in the Namibian mining, fishing and other sectors of our economy. I am equally happy to note that case studies will be given to showcase investment opportunities in sectors such as mining and mineral beneficiation, fisheries and tourism. It is my firm belief that there is room for further trade and business linkages. This forum, and my entire visit to the UK, is aimed at fostering deeper political and economic ties and cooperation between our two countries and peoples. I am informed that Namibian products are mainly exported in their raw form. This represents opportunities for local value addition and export of manufactured products. Director of Ceremonies Since independence, the Government of the Republic of Namibia has adopted and pursued policies and programmes aimed at fostering a business friendly environment, attracting greater investments especially into the manufacturing and services sectors and the achievement of sustainable economic growth. We have reformed our laws governing business operations in order to make them comparable with the most modern of such laws in other parts of the world and to ensure transparency and predictability in our dealings with investors. As a result of this, the country has enjoyed a steady, though moderate economic growth. We have put in place deliberate policy measures and incentives aimed at promoting export-led industrialization, manufacturing and export activities. Our Foreign Investment Act of 1993 provides basic conditions under which foreign investors can operate in Namibia. This law provides for free repatriation of capital and profit as well as the international arbitration in case of dispute between a foreign investor and the Government of Namibia. It also guarantees against loss of foreign investment due to expropriation. Our Export Processing Zones (EPZ) Act of 1995 and the Special Incentives for Manufacturers and Exporters offer very generous incentives for manufacturing operations and export of manufactured goods. Director of Ceremonies Although Namibia is a country with a relatively small population of about 2 million, this should not be a deterring factor to any investor wanting to penetrate our virgin territory. Namibia is well positioned to serve as a gateway location in terms of her geographical setting and membership in both regional and international trade alliances. Furthermore, we are part of the larger Southern African Development Community (SADC) which is a market of some 200 million people. In addition, Namibia has bilateral trade agreements with neighbouring countries give Namibian goods and services preferential access to markets in these countries On the international scene, Namibia’s trade advantages are defined by its membership to multilateral trade arrangements. One of this is the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)-European Union (EU) Cotonou Partnership arrangement, which offers privileged duty- and quota-free access for most raw materials and manufactured products. It is our expectation that the trade arrangement, which is under re-negotiation will be replaced by equally favourable market access conditions so as to promote growth in young economies like ours. The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) agreements provide access of Namibian products to the North American markets at zero tariffs better than Most Favoured Nations status. As part of SACU, we have also concluded a Preferential Trade Agreement with MERCOSUR countries which provide generous market access for products produced in SACU. Director of ceremonies In our drive to create an investor-friendly environment, we recognize that physical infrastructure is the wheel of economic activity. Accordingly, a large chunk of our public investment has been going into the expansion and modernization of our road, rail, harbor, air and telecommunication infrastructure. The main thrust of our infrastructure development programmes is to turn Namibia into a major gateway to and from Southern Africa so that investors in Namibia and elsewhere in the region can conduct their business and access their markets easily, speedily and cost-effectively through Namibia. The efficient deep water harbor of Walvis Bay and the Trans-Caprivi and Trans-Kalahari Highways link Namibia to its land-locked neigbouring countries of Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe thereby rounding off Namibia’s appeal as a gateway location for imports and exports. Namibia is implementing the Walvis Bay Spatial Development Initiative (WBSDI), a regional development initiative which is part of the Trans-Africa Coast-to-Coast development initiative that connects Walvis Bay to the Mozambican capital of Maputo. This Initiative is a joint effort of the Governments of Namibia and South Africa aimed at promoting further development and the implementation of investment projects based on better utilization of the road infrastructure and the port of Walvis Bay. It involves the identification, formulation and marketing of opportunities for private investment. His Excellency President Thabo Mbeki of the Republic of South Africa and I will co-chair the Namibia International Investment Conference scheduled to take place in Windhoek from 30 October to 1st November this year. I am extending a personal invitation to the business community of Great Britain and Europe to join us at this important event. Director of Ceremonies In our continued effort to move to the centre-stage of global economic activity, we in Namibia urgently seek foreign enterprise, capital and increased trade to spur our economy to higher levels of growth and competitiveness in world trade. My delegation and I are here seeking for the collaboration of the British business community in the form of investments and technology transfer. We extend an invitation to corporate Britain to explore further mutually beneficial business linkages and more ways and means to make Britain’s entrepreneurship, its capital and indeed its market available to Namibia. We welcome direct investment by and joint venture partnerships with British entrepreneurs. Finally Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like once again to thank the organizers and sponsors of the event; and the British and Namibian captains of industry for their participation. It is my hope that the business executives will make acquaintances and establish lasting and mutually beneficial relations. I thank you all for your attention. |
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