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Trade between Russia and Namibia significantly declined by about 41% last year due to geopolitical tension. Now Namibia is working on initiatives to increase bilateral relations in various sectors such as agriculture, mining, and healthcare amongst others.
Trade between Russia and Namibia significantly declined by about 41% last year due to geopolitical tension. Now Namibia is working on initiatives to increase bilateral relations in various sectors such as agriculture, mining, and healthcare amongst others.
This decline was due to the current geopolitical situation; however, this should not deter the country from looking at the potential, particularly in sectors where Namibia has a competitive advantage, said the Namibian Minister of Trade and Industrialisation Lucia Iipumbu at the Russia-Africa Business Summit in Russia. Russia is very strong in agriculture, minerals, and health care. There are numerous sectors in both countries that can collaborate and cooperate in the future.
In a plenary session of the summit Russian President, Vladimir Putin said Russia is ready to share its expertise in the field of agricultural production with African countries and to assist in the introduction of the most advanced technologies. He asserted that with Russia being one of the leaders in the field of information and communication technologies, Russia is expanding cooperation with African states in the field of information security, artificial intelligence, and the digital economy.
Russia has good experience in creating and using information technologies in tax administration, registration of property rights, and provision of electronic public services to citizens and legal entities, and companies. The country can assist interested African countries in launching similar systems and are always ready to share our best practices in the context of technological development. In order to further expand the entire range of trade and economic ties, Putin noted that it is important to move more energetically in financial settlements on trade transactions to national currencies, including the rubble.
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Namibia’s top import products from Russia in recent years included wheat, ammonium nitrate (used in high nitrogen fertiliser for farmers), frozen chicken, and frozen sardines. Meanwhile, Namibia’s main exports to Russia in recent years included oysters, fresh grapes, collector’s items, frozen crabs, and dates.
Trade between the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and both Ukraine and Russia combined is less than 2% of total SACU trade. Given that recessionary risks in developed markets have heightened, this is a downside risk to Namibian trade in the coming months.
