President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has promoted Namibia’s critical minerals and renewable energy potential to Chinese investors, calling for greater investment in mineral beneficiation, green energy and downstream industries to accelerate industrialisation and create jobs.
Speaking at the Namibia-China Business Forum in Beijing on Wednesday, the President said Namibia is positioning itself as a strategic destination for investment across the mining and energy value chains, with abundant reserves of uranium, lithium, copper, zinc, gold, diamonds and rare earth minerals offering significant opportunities for value addition.
She said the government wants investors to move beyond extracting raw materials and instead establish processing facilities and manufacturing industries in Namibia.
“For too long our mining sector was more on extraction and export raw materials as system that did not work for us. Today Namibia with all sorts of minerals many of our people are unemployed and poor. To address that injustice way of trade our government has taken a decision that, to create employment and take our people from poverty, those investing in Namibia, priority must be given to value addition for the meaningful benefits of our people from our natural resources,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
The President encouraged Chinese companies to invest in mineral beneficiation plants, metal processing facilities, component manufacturing and integrated industrial projects that would enable Namibia to export higher-value products.
“Our goal is to export value added products, not only primary goods. Namibia being strategically located, can cater for the entire African market, Asian, European and American markets,” she said.
Beyond mining, Nandi-Ndaitwah highlighted Namibia’s renewable energy potential, describing the country as one of Africa’s emerging green hydrogen destinations because of its world-class solar and wind resources.
She said government is seeking investment across the renewable energy value chain, including electricity generation, green hydrogen production, equipment manufacturing, energy storage and export infrastructure to support long-term industrial growth.
The President also promoted opportunities in the oil and gas sector, logistics infrastructure, ports, rail, aviation and digital infrastructure, saying these sectors will be critical to supporting Namibia’s mining and energy industries while strengthening regional trade through the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
She further called for stronger cooperation in research, skills development and technology transfer to ensure Namibians acquire the expertise needed to participate in the country’s expanding mining, energy and industrial sectors.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the government’s objective is to transform Namibia from a resource exporter into a regional industrial hub where the country’s mineral and energy wealth generates greater domestic value, employment and sustainable economic growth.
