WINDHOEK – Namibia has already purchased land and submitted technical plans to establish a massive nine-storey trade hub in Talatona, Luanda, that will constitute an investment of between N$250 million and N$300 million.
This deal was sealed by Minister of Trade and Industry, Calle Schlettwein, during an official visit to Luanda last week to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation on trade, investment and industrial development with Angola.
During the visit Schlettwein and his delegation also attended to assignments of the Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation between the two countries.
Schlettwein, who returned from the visit that took place from 1 September to 4 September, said Namibia has long planned to develop trade centres in Angola, specifically in Luanda and Lubango, to facilitate the distribution of Namibian products and to encourage Namibian service providers to establish a foothold in the Angolan market.
“In this trade hub we want to set up Namibian service providers and Namibian retail outlets. Through this centre Namibian business people can make contact with Angolan business people and vice versa. And the Angolans want to do the same in Windhoek,” said Schlettwein on Friday during a media briefing on his recent visit.
While in Luanda the Namibian trade minister met with Angola’s Minister of Industry, Bernada Martins, and that country’s Minister of Commerce, Rosa De Matos. During the last meeting of the Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation, the ministers of trade of the two countries were tasked to finalize the terms of reference of the Joint Trade Committee (JTC) for it to start functioning.
Schlettwein explained that the JTC is provided for under Article 10 of the bilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement and said “it is important for us to firm up on the practical actions necessary to expedite the implementation of the agreement”.
When in Angola, Schlettwein and De Matos signed the terms of reference of the JTC, which will now guide technical officials to look into issues of trade and investment and provide reports for policy guidance and decisions. These issues include market access for export products of both countries, issues surrounding the movement of goods across borders, investment and joint-venture partnerships, amongst others.
“We realized some time ago that Angola is a sleeping giant. We also have excellent political relations with them and they face similar challenges to Namibia. Besides being a neighbour they have a magnitude of opportunities,” noted Schlettwein.
During the visit the minister was accompanied by his Permanent Secretary, Dr Malan Lindeque, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Annascy Mwanyangapo, as well as high-ranking ministerial and Namibia Development Corporation officials.
“It is fascinating to see what is happening in Angola with their mass housing projects and increased industrial capacity. Namibians should take advantage of the solid growth in our northern neighbour (estimated at 10 percent for the last seven years) and should take advantage of the fact that Namibia is the only country in the world that does not have visa requirements to Angola,” remarked Schlettwein.
Recent visits also saw the two neighbours agree to support each other’s industrialization by welcoming increased exports from one another.
Namibia already produces salt, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fish, meat, poultry, dairy products, wheat products, cereal products (including beer) and construction materials (including cement) that it wishes to export in greater quantity to Angola. “While these products are important to us, other products can also be considered,” added Schlettwein.