Namibia says it has reached an agreement with Angola to set up a Bi-national Commission to forge cooperation in the sectors of oil and gas.
The agreement stems from a one-day official working visit that President Nangolo Mbumba undertook to Angola on Wednesday to discuss issues of mutual interest with his counterpart Joào Lourenço.
Following deliberations, the Presidency announced that the two Presidents underlined the need to strengthen cooperation in the areas of oil and gas, energy, agriculture and water.
“President Mbumba underscored that Namibia had a lot to learn from Angola in the oil and gas sectors. In that vein, President Mbumba and President Lourenço agreed to convene the Namibia-Angola Bi-national Commission in the coming months in order to scale up mutually beneficial cooperation between Namibia and Angola,” the Presidency said.
Since 2022, significant oil discoveries have been made offshore of Namibia’s coast in the Orange Basin, and more continue to be discovered; in rampant exploration activities undertaken by TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy and NAMCOR.
Namibia is positioning itself to learn from peer countries such as Angola that have been running a successful oil industry.
“Thus, prior to departure to Namibia, and in order to give effect to the Agreement on Cooperation in Petroleum and Natural Gas, President Mbumba was taken on a tour of Sonangol Integrated Logistics Services (SONILS). Hence, he encouraged the leadership of SONILS to work with their Namibian partners on the basis of a solid and transparent partnership for the benefit of both countries,” the Presidency said.
SONILS was created in 1995 to provide logistical support and related services to the oil, gas and energy sectors.
Similarly, last year Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy Kornelia Shilunga including high profile officials were on a week-long tour in Angola trying to familiarise themselves with the operations and intricacies of the oil industry.
After the bilateral talks, Mbumba was also taken through a tour of the Karam Group, a diversified company with steel, nails and pipes operations in Luanda and other parts of Angola, with some product exports to Namibia.
The company expressed interest in investing in Namibia, setting up similar operations to the amount of N$1 billion, with the potential of creating 350 employment opportunities for Namibians.
The management team of the company informed the President that they had secured land in Windhoek and were hoping to reach a stage when they would commence operations shortly. Additionally, the two Presidents agreed to inaugurate the Cassinga Memorial in the coming few months.
