The executive director of strategy and branding at the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board, Margareth Gustavo, says Namibia is a hub of untapped potential and that the country needs to gain energy security so that it can be developed further and create employment.
She highlighted that oil and gas, green hydrogen, renewable energy, uranium and biomass all equally make up our energy sector.
She said this at the first Namibia-Korea energy and resource business forum in Windhoek yesterday.
“Many of us will look at Namibia and think that the country only has 2,5 million people, therefore, Namibia is a gateway to many markets … we want to create gainful employment for Namibians…” Gustavo said.
She added that Namibia is classified as an upper middle-income country, which is based on the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). She said GDP does not highlight the inequalities based on income.
“We are classified as an upper middle-income country and that is really based on gross domestic product per capita… However, the inequalities based on income is what we were really worried about,” Gustavo said.
She added that the mining and exploration sector of the county makes up 12,5% of the GDP, and natural resources such as diamonds, uranium and copper have been key role-players in the development of the country.
Minister of mines and energy Tom Alweendo said Namibia welcomes collaborative investment and partnerships.
He said the Namibia-Korea business forum allows space for Korea and Namibia to discuss ways to collaborate in the energy and resources sector.
Alweendo added that development in the country cannot happen when Namibia stands on its own.
“We don’t want to stop at being classified as an upper middle-income country… Now for us to get there, because we can’t get there by ourselves, and we have the right ingredients, we live in a globalised world and need collaboration to move forward,” he said.
Secretary general of the bid committee for the 2030 World Expo Yoon Sang Jick said the partnership that will emerge from the business forum should be a 50/50 win for both Namibia and South Korea.
