Namibia is promoting its natural resources at the Dubai Expo to attract sustainable investments and mutually beneficial partnerships across the globe.
The World Expo, currently hosted by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from 01 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, was originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The theme of this year’s expo is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” with sub-themes of “Sustainability, Opportunity and Mobility”. This year’s World Expo is being hosted for the first time in the Gulf region.
Speaking at the opening of the Namibian pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, trade minister Lucia Iipumbu said the event provides a lucrative investment opportunity that will secure long-term benefits. She added the expo will trigger an attraction of more tourists and investors to create jobs and contribute to true economic diversification.
Namibia is amongst 192 nations attending this world class event and the Namibian theme is “Preserving and Utilising our Natural Treasures for Future Generations”.
In this light, the trade minister highlighted the Namibian pavilion will emphasise the country’s treasurable natural resources, such as energy, ecology, rich and diverse cultures and many others, which can be utilised, but in an environmentally friendly manner. At the pavilion opening, Iipumbu noted the expo is expected to attract 25 million visitors during its six months duration.
The Expo is anticipated to further unlock innovations, attract investments, promote trade opportunities for all participating nations, organisations, scholars, artists, entrepreneurs, as well as youth and women.
“The pavilion will be promoting the country through carefully selected sectors such as renewable energy, mining, tourism, education, manufacturing, blue economy, health, logistics and agriculture. It is important to note that even though Namibia is a young country, there are endless opportunities, therefore, the promotion of sectors is not limited to the ones mentioned.
There are more sectors that are untapped and need specific experts and investment to stimulate the economy in general,” Iipumbu indicated. The trade minister added the global platform will be beneficial to all participants as it will play a pivotal role in shaping world economic activities after the pandemic that has greatly impacted global economic activity.
According to her, Namibia’s presence at the Expo is earmarked to be one of the marketing strategies that the country through its mandated institutions, the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), mines and trade ministries, has embarked upon to promote targeted and well-packaged trade and investment opportunities.
At the same occasion, mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo said Namibia has embraced renewable energy in efforts to fight climate change. He stated Namibia’s target for renewable energy is to have at least 70% emanating from green resources by the year 2030.
Alweendo noted Namibia has some of the world’s best renewable energy resources, adding that with the fast expansion of its existing transmission and distribution infrastructure, it has the potential to become a net exporter of electricity to neighbouring countries. He continued that a clear legal framework governing the renewable energy sector increases investors’ confidence in this energy market.
Despite this huge potential, Namibia currently still imports around 60% of its total electricity needs because of inadequate local generation capacity. One of the goals of the second Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPPII) focuses on electricity supply security for the entire country.
Through the targeted approach of HPPII, Namibia aims to break the shackles of dependency on electricity imports as it deals with rising domestic consumption. At the same time, Namibia aims to become the first zero-emissions country in Africa.
Alweendo concluded that considering the country’s potential for green electricity production, harnessing renewable energy opens excellent opportunities for investors.