Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, said Namibia is willing to collaborate with like-minded foreign investors that will aid in the industrialisation of the nation.

Speaking on Monday at the inaugural Namibia-Korea energy and resource business forum in the capital, Alweendo said Namibia has the mineral resources necessary for industrialisation, but requires investment.

Namibia, which is currently classified as an upper middle-income nation, has the ambition to become an industrialised country, the minister said.

“For us to get there, we can’t get there on our own. As we all know, we live in a globalised world, and we need to cooperate with other countries. We actually have the right ingredients, as this forum is about energy and resources, and those are some of the elements that we have that we believe can actually turn us into an industrialised nation,” Alweendo said.

“We also believe that for us to get there, we will continue to want people to come and invest in our economy and that is exactly the reason why you’re here, because you want to become investors in our economy,” he said.

The minister however called for a win-win partnership between the Korean investors and Namibian businesses, including the government.

“While we welcome you as investors; the only thing we would want us to agree with you on is that, as investors, the investment is going to result in a win-win outcome, and that win-win outcome is really for us to become an industrialised nation,” he added.

On his part, Yoon Sang Jick, the presidential envoy and secretary general of the World Expo 2030 Busan, said that the forum laid the groundwork for a relationship of lasting cooperation between Korea and Namibia.

Yoon noted that South Korean businesses are not only looking for opportunities to exploit critical minerals such as lithium and nickel, but are also looking to add value in the host country.

In addition to players in the refinery and battery cell production, Yoon, the former minister of trade, industry and energy, was accompanied by representatives from some of Korea's largest corporations, including Samsung and LG.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency