Namibia and South Africa’s business executives will be exploring opportunities to increase trade and investment flows between the two countries at the Namibia-South African Business Forum and Exhibition, slated for the Windhoek Country Club tomorrow, 13 October 2023. 

The Business Forum and Exhibition will focus on strategic priority sectors agreed to by both countries, namely: agriculture and agro-processing, automotive, clothing and textile, as well as green hydrogen, including exploring opportunities to strengthen cross-border value chains, along with the integration of the requisite infrastructure and logistics supply chains. 

The forum is to be held under the theme, ‘Forging a New Era of Mutually Beneficial and Reciprocal Trade and Investment Relations’. 

The event is hosted by the industrialisation and trade ministry, on the margins of the third session of the Namibia-South Africa Bi-National Commission, which is co-chaired by President Hage Geingob and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The two heads of states are expected to address the business forum. 

The programme of the forum includes presentations on opportunities available to strengthen value chain linkages between the two countries, exhibitions, business-to-business meetings, as well as breakaway sessions for in-depth discussions on value chains in agriculture, automotive, green hydrogen and clothing and textile sectors. 

The business forum is expected to provide business people from the two countries a platform to exchange concrete ideas on new opportunities that can be explored with the assistance of both governments to increase trade. 

It is anticipated that a joint Namibia-South Africa business forum will be created and institutionalised to become a major platform to further enhance and solidify trade, industrial and investment linkages between the two countries.