Asian business seminar kicks off

A BUSINESS seminar by the Asian-Africa Investment and Technology Promotion Centre (AAITPC) delegation opened in Windhoek yesterday.

The 50-member delegation of entrepreneurs from Asia is in the country for a four-day business mission after arriving at the weekend. The business delegation, with members from China, South Korea, Indonesia, India and Malaysia, is in the country to explore business opportunities.The business tour is a culmination of fact-finding missions done both in Namibia and the mentioned Asian countries last year.The AAITPC project, an initiative established in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1999 seeks to promote business linkages in the form of investment, trade and technology transfer from Asia to Africa.Namibia and Mozambique are the two Southern African countries receiving support from AAITPC, a project implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and funded by the Government of Japan.Opening the seminar yesterday the deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Bernhardt Esau congratulated AAITPC and UNIDO for the project which aims at creating linkages between Namibia and the Asian countries.The deputy minister gave a brief account of Namibia’s attributes which he said created a conducive atmosphere for investment.He said Namibia already had good political and bilateral co-operations with many Asian countries, adding that the seminar would offer opportunities for interaction and establishment of solid business relations.Esau also told the visiting delegates that Namibia had an abundance of natural resources, with mining and fishing being the two most important economic sectors.”The Namibian Government recognises the valuable contribution which foreign investment can make towards an increasingly successful future and the transformation of the content and character of our economy through industrialisation.”Such investment will further stimulate economic growth, create employment, introduce new technologies, develop new export markets and create market opportunities for our growing SME sector,” said Esau.The deputy minister also added that the Government was committed to the principles of a free market economy and that it recognised its responsibility to establish the appropriate legal and regulatory framework to enable the private sector to operate effectively and generate wealth.In his remarks, AAITPC head of mission, Masato Tsukiji said the project appreciated the support it was receiving from the Namibian government, adding that this mission should be the beginning of a meaningful discussions and business ventures.He lamented the fact that Africa’s issues are usually lumped into one; with Africa being treated as one country – not a continent; ignoring individual countries hence the initiative by the AAITPC to tour country by country and seek business ventures, which would vary from each country.The visiting business delegation will have one-on-one business meetings, sign memorandums of understanding and tour companies which include Ramatex, Namib Mills, Nakara, Meatco and Namibia Breweries.AAITPC will later this year, organise another delegation to visit Namibia which will do a follow-up to this business mission by assessing progress, said Tsukiji.Since its inception five years ago, the AAITPC has been on three other missions to Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Ghana.On this fourth business mission, the delegation will proceed to Mozambique after the end of its four-day visit tomorrow.The business delegation, with members from China, South Korea, Indonesia, India and Malaysia, is in the country to explore business opportunities.The business tour is a culmination of fact-finding missions done both in Namibia and the mentioned Asian countries last year.The AAITPC project, an initiative established in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1999 seeks to promote business linkages in the form of investment, trade and technology transfer from Asia to Africa.Namibia and Mozambique are the two Southern African countries receiving support from AAITPC, a project implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and funded by the Government of Japan.Opening the seminar yesterday the deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Bernhardt Esau congratulated AAITPC and UNIDO for the project which aims at creating linkages between Namibia and the Asian countries.The deputy minister gave a brief account of Namibia’s attributes which he said created a conducive atmosphere for investment.He said Namibia already had good political and bilateral co-operations with many Asian countries, adding that the seminar would offer opportunities for interaction and establishment of solid business relations.Esau also told the visiting delegates that Namibia had an abundance of natural resources, with mining and fishing being the two most important economic sectors.”The Namibian Government recognises the valuable contribution which foreign investment can make towards an increasingly successful future and the transformation of the content and character of our economy through industrialisation.”Such investment will further stimulate economic growth, create employment, introduce new technologies, develop new export markets and create market opportunities for our growing SME sector,” said Esau.The deputy minister also added that the Government was committed to the principles of a free market economy and that it recognised its responsibility to establish the appropriate legal and regulatory framework to enable the private sector to operate effectively and generate wealth.In his remarks, AAITPC head of mission, Masato Tsukiji said the project appreciated the support it was receiving from the Namibian government, adding that this mission should be the beginning of a meaningful discussions and business ventures.He lamented the fact that Africa’s issues are usually lumped into one; with Africa being treated as one country – not a continent; ignoring individual countries hence the initiative by the AAITPC to tour country by country and seek business ventures, which would vary from each country.The visiting business delegation will have one-on-one business meetings, sign memorandums of understanding and tour companies which include Ramatex, Namib Mills, Nakara, Meatco and Namibia Breweries.AAITPC will later this year, organise another delegation to visit Namibia which will do a follow-up to this business mission by assessing progress, said Tsukiji.Since its inception five years ago, the AAITPC has been on three other missions to Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Ghana.On this fourth business mission, the delegation will proceed to Mozambique after the end of its four-day visit tomorrow.