US to deepen partnership with Namibia
The United States is working closely with Namibia to realise further growth in trade and investment between the two countries.
United States (US) ambassador to Namibia, Lisa Johnson at a media briefing on Friday said her government is working closely to raise US companies' awareness about opportunities in Namibia which support development goals.
Johnson made these remarks in line with the US's new trade and investment opportunity programme, known as 'Prosper Africa'.
“The US administration is promoting more trade and investment between the US and more countries on the African continent. This will lead to greater shared prosperity and economic growth between both parties involved.
So, Prosper Africa is a whole new government initiative that will substantially increase two-way trade between the US and the countries of Africa,” she said.
Moreover, Johnson noted that they are also encouraging more Namibian companies to take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits (Agoa) for the duty-free entry of products into the US.
The US consumer market has purchasing power of US$13 trillion, the largest in the world.
Looking at Prosper Africa, the ambassador added that the initiative would provide new resources to create economic prosperity for Namibians and Americans specifically by helping Namibian companies use the Agoa benefits.
She said this can be done by accessing the new US International Development Finance Corporation, while supporting skills development and two-way trade to increase partnerships between Namibian companies and the US.
“Namibia and the US have a strong and diverse partnership, and trade and investment is one of the very important pillars. However, the other pillars are combating HIV-AIDS; countering wildlife crime; facilitating development; and sponsoring exchange programmes. All of those pillars will continue.
“The US model of partnership with Namibia offers sustainable, empowering avenues for economic development for Namibia. In that way, we think we are making both parties stronger, more prosperous, and all our people better off together,” Johnson noted.
Elaborating on the difference between Agoa and Prosper Africa, Johnson said Agoa focuses on exports from Namibia to the US, and countries which export to the US under AGOA, get to export their products duty free.
The ambassador said: “Namibia has always qualified for Agoa benefits, but has underutilised them because the manufacturing sector here is underdeveloped, compared to other countries. However, we have asked an organisation here to do a study for us on why Namibia is underutilising Agoa, and what would be the most promising sectors for us to encourage more utilisation of Agoa.”
The ambassador added that the US reckons that the most promising sectors of investment are in the areas of energy, manufacturing, logistics, and tourism.
“However, Agoa is just one-way trade from Namibia to the US, while Prosper Africa is trying to increase two-way trade to bring more investments and partnerships to Namibia,” she stated.
According to Johnson, Prosper Africa will modernise the way the US government supports its own private sector, and trade and investment opportunities in Africa.
This will be done, firstly, by synchronising all US government capabilities by providing a one-stop-shop; and secondly, by helping to facilitate, expedite and mitigate the risks of transactions between US and African firms and investors.
Thirdly, it will support African governments in identifying and addressing policy, regulatory, and logistical barriers to private sector trade and investments with the goal of fostering a more mutually beneficial business climate.
“This is largely what the economic summit of the high-level panel here in Namibia is looking to do at the end of the month. For us, that effort in Prosper Africa will include technical assistance to implement trade and investment policies, and build the capacity of regulatory institutions and procurement bodies,” the ambassador added.
Read related news articles
New opportunities to deepen US trade and investment in Namibia open up
New optimism about the future of Namibia’s economic engagement with the United States of America has begun to manifest. The American Ambassador to Namibia, Ambassador Randy Berry, recently said that the United States of America is committed to strengthening trade and investment ties with Namibia and other African countries. Ambassador Berry stressed the importance of these partnerships for mutual prosperity and the significance of...
23 November 2023
USAID and Namibian government showcase successes in Namibia
Today, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the United States to Namibia Jessica Long and representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the Namibian Government, reflected on the past six years of the Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub (USAID TradeHub). The event in Windhoek brought together stakeholders from the Namibian market to share experiences, successes, and lessons...
03 August 2022
Namibia: Trade ministry and USAID TradeHub bring AGOA capacity building into focus
Last year, Namibia launched its AGOA Utilisation Strategy with the objective of diversifying and increasing its exports to the United States of America under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The strategy chiefly seeks to assist Namibia to develop its competitiveness in utilising the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) that provides eligible countries with duty free access to the lucrative USA market. Now, Namibia...
06 June 2022
Namibia: Ambassador keen to expand country's Meatco market
Namibian ambassador to the USA Margaret Mensah-Williams recently conducted a familiarisation visit at Meatco, expressing her satisfaction at the manner the institution is operating and fulfilling its mandate. Mensah-Williams, who was welcomed by Meatco CEO Mwilima Mushokabanji, was particularly impressed by the vast experience and knowledge Meatco has in producing high-quality beef products that are highly competitive in the advanced...
20 January 2022
Namibia: American delegation looks for renewable energy opportunities
President Hage Geingob on Friday hosted a delegation from the United States of America at State House. A delegation of businesspeople, accompanied by lawmakers from several states, was in Namibia to look out for opportunities, particularly in the renewable energy industry. Before the closed-door meeting, Geingob said Namibia is a peaceful country that has gone through peaceful transitions of power. He informed the delegation that Namibia has...
24 August 2021
Namibia: Local exporters urged to take continental market route as companies shine at exporter awards
Minister of Industrialisation and Trade Lucia Iipumbu said a number of export markets have been secured for Namibian exporters, including in Africa, and encouraged all local producers to seize opportunities of continental access. Iipumbu made these remarks when she officiated at the first Namibia Annual Exporter Awards last week. The awards were held in collaboration between the USAID Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub (USAID...
09 August 2021
Namibia launches AGOA strategy to increase tariff-free exports to the United States
Today, U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson joined Minister of Industrialisation and Trade Lucia Iipumbu to officially launch Namibia’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Utilization Strategy. The strategy seeks to increase Namibia’s exports under the AGOA program, which allows Namibia to export over 6,400 products tariff-free to the United States. This joint effort to develop the AGOA strategy is part of the United States’ efforts to...
11 May 2021
Namibia: Meatco hailed for beef export success … ‘nothing good comes easy’
Minister of International Relations and Corporation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah yesterday hailed the exportation of Namibian beef to the United States, describing it as a “great achievement” in the advancement of the country economic diplomacy. Nandi-Ndaitwah made the remarks during the sending off of the first container of 25 tons of Namibian beef to the US, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s largest city yesterday, making Namibia the first...
21 February 2020
USAID Southern Africa to support upcoming Swakopmund international trade expo
The USAID/Southern Africa will collaborate with the government and the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) for the upcoming 7th Swakopmund International Trade Expo (SWAITEX). Dr Takele Tassew, Agriculture and Trade Advisor for the USAID/Southern Africa Regional Economic Growth Office, confirmed in a statement that this partnership is possible because of a meeting they had with the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and SME...
03 October 2019
Namibia encouraged to make more use of AGOA
THE United States of America's ambassador to Namibia, Lisa Johnson has encouraged Namibian businesses to make use of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), also known as the Trade and Development Act of 2000, was approved by the United States congress in May 2000. It promotes duty-free market access to the US to assist the economies of sub-Saharan Africa, and to improve economic...
06 July 2018