Namibia is dedicated to pursuing an economic diversification policy to boost the industrial and service sectors and increasing overall manufacturing output. This policy should also encourage the addition of value to locally generated raw materials.
These sentiments were emphasised by deputy trade minister Verna Sinimbo while addressing delegates at the just ended fourth session of the Turkey-Africa Economic and Business forum. At the summit, Sinimbo stated Namibia wants to cement economic ties with Turkey in a manner that is mutually beneficial.
“We need assistance from Turkey, in a space of diversification, as the country is highly industrialised with a thriving manufacturing industry,” Sinimbo said.
The theme of the annual forum that took place last week was ‘Addressing Challenges, Unlocking Opportunities: Building Stronger Türkiye-Africa Economic Partnerships’.
Under this theme, the forum set the stage for discussions on overcoming obstacles to a deeper Turkey-Africa cooperation, such as trade barriers, infrastructure gaps, financing constraints, and regulatory complexities. The event further encouraged participants to exchange ideas and strategies for mitigating these challenges to foster increased trade, investment, and collaboration.
“When it comes to agriculture, Namibia has over 1.9 million goats and 2.4 million sheep, from Turkey, we need practical know-how to produce cheese for export and yoghurts to uplift our rural economy. We have suitable weather and soil for olives and dates production. We also need assistance on how to produce tomato sauce, we need know- how experts to come and show us (skills transfer). We need textile experts and materials to capacitate garment production in the country,” Sinimbo stated.
Namibia and Turkey penned a trade and economic cooperation agreement in November 2014, with the aim to promote cooperation in areas of mutual investment. These include energy and mineral resources, agriculture and livestock development, education, and health as well as science and technology.
After entering into the agreement, total trade between Namibia and
Turkey has been fluctuating, increasing from N$621.3 million in 2015 to N$1.6 billion the following year.
However, an opposite trend was experienced thereafter, picking up again in 2019 and 2020 after the renewal of the agreement; then falling to N$462 million in 2022, from N$508.7 recorded the previous year. Namibia has been recorded as a net importer from Turkey for the years under review.