Namibia urged to negotiate from strength as US seeks strategic energy, mineral partnerships

Lawmakers have urged the government to negotiate stronger, value-driven deals in relation to Namibia’s natural resources.

This comes after United States (US) ambassador to Namibia John Giordano in an interview with BBC last week said the US is aiming to position Namibia as a reliable strategic partner in securing uranium energy resources.

He also said Namibia, a frontier for offshore oil and gas development, is already drawing major US and allied energy investment.

“This is about securing America’s future. Namibia sits at the intersection of energy security, critical minerals, and the infrastructure required for the artificial intelligence era. Time matters and outcomes are what matters”.

US president Donald Trump appointed Giordano last September as Namibia’s ambassador, his first posting to a southern African nation under the Trump administration. Giordano arrived in Namibia last October.

“This is about building systems that last. You cannot separate security from capital, and you cannot separate either from energy.

The US has to lead in all three,” Giordano said.

Popular Democratic Movement president McHenry Venaani yesterday argued that Namibia must be very clear with what it wants in terms of national interests.

“The Americans are very clear with what they want. So we should know that Namibia has become a country of great interest and by being a country of great interest, there needs to be strategic thinking in our approach and actions so that we remain strategic and ahead of the game,” Venaani said.

Venaani insisted that Namibia’s negotiations must prioritise national interest over political friendships.

Independent Patriots for Change parliamentarian Rodney Cloete says Namibia should not worry about what happened in Venezuela, not because America is benevolent, but because the situations are fundamentally different and the real risk is not what people think it is.

He argues that Namibia should focus on negotiating from strength, citing Venezuela’s institutional failure as a lesson in preparation rather than fear.

The US last month captured Venezuela president Nicolás Maduro on alleged trafficking charges. Trump later said the US would be taking control of Venezuela’s oil reserves.

Cloete says Venezuela’s decades of mismanagement destroyed the country’s institutions, collapsed its economy and left it vulnerable with no leverage, options, or no allies willing to defend it.

“Namibia should ensure the outcomes count for Namibians, not just for American supply chains,” Cloete says.

Former Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board director Nangula Uaandja last week took to social media, urging the government to be clear on what it wants from the US.

“Let us go to the negotiating table with a focus to secure a great mutually beneficial deal for Namibia to benefit our current and future generations,” she said.

CONCERNS

Swanu of Namibia president Evilastus Kaaronda urges the government to devise safeguards against US expansionism, drawing lessons from Venezuela.

“By now we all know that America is not kidding around. America has for the past 10 years or more been positioning herself and ways that have far reaching consequences for Namibia,” Kaaronda says.

He points out that Namibia’s large US mission underscores its strategic importance to America.

Retired Namibian ambassador Pius Dunaiski says there is nothing to worry about, adding that although Trump’s foreign policy is transactional, Namibia’s situation is unlike Venezuela’s.

“The geopolitical rivalry with China and Russia may take a soft power approach. Expect a huge health grant in exchange for the uranium, gold, oil, etc,” he says.

Dunaiski says Namibia falls outside the Monroe doctrine space.

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