President Hage Geingob on Wednesday arrived in South Africa for a state visit at the invitation of his counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa.
The visit, according to a press release issued by the Office of the Presidency on Wednesday, aims to further strengthen the already existing bilateral relations between Namibia and South Africa.
“In addition to bilateral discussions on issues such as the Orange River border question, the Southern African Customs Union, the two presidents will discuss regional, continental and international issues of mutual concern. The state visit is expected to afford Namibia and South Africa an opportunity to strengthen bilateral cooperation, enhance economic cooperation, explore trade and investment, and also identify new areas of cooperation in the fields of Green Hydrogen, including the oil and gas sectors,” the statement noted.
According to the presidency, the transformation of the Heads of State Economic Forum into the Binational Commission has also provided an impetus to further enhance bilateral cooperation and a platform to exchange views on issues of mutual interest and concern at the regional level.
“Namibia and South Africa are both members of the Southern African Customs Union that ensures the free movement of goods among member states. South Africa continues to be Namibia’s top trading partner on the continent and in the world at large, both in terms of exports and imports.”
In 2022, total trade between Namibia and South Africa stood at N. dollars 67.1 billion, an increase of 13.5 per cent from the N.dollars 59.1 billion recorded the previous year.
Namibia’s exports to South Africa stood at N.dollars 16.8 billion in 2022, compared to N.dollars 13.5 billion recorded in 2021, while the country’s imports from South Africa were valued at N. dollars 45.6 billion and N. dollars 50.3 billion in 2021 and 2022 respectively; representing an increase in both exports and imports of 24.2 and 10.3 per cent respectively.
Geingob is expected to return to Namibia on Saturday.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency