South Africa and Namibia are pulling their economic strengths closer together this week, with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) set to host the South Africa–Namibia Business Forum at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg, on Friday, 17 July.
The forum forms part of the programme of the Bi-National Commission between the two neighbours and will bring government and business representatives from both countries around the same table to strengthen bilateral trade and investment, SAnews reports.
Clearing the road for goods to move
According to the dtic’s Acting Deputy Director-General for Exports, Willem Van der Spuy, the forum has two practical objectives: identifying the barriers currently hindering cross-border trade, and aligning strategies to improve transport and logistics so that processed goods can move seamlessly across the border.
That focus on logistics matters. When trucks, rail and ports work smoothly between neighbouring economies, factories on both sides of the border gain reliable access to bigger markets, and consumers benefit from better prices and choice.
Building regional value chains
Van der Spuy said the relationship between the two countries is ready to move beyond goodwill and into shared industrial strategy.
“The bilateral relations between South Africa and Namibia should evolve to focus more on the implementation of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Industrialisation Strategy and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in a way that promotes the development of regional value-chains and growth of the respective economies and creates employment by tapping into manufacturing and export potential in among others, agriculture and agro-processing, clothing, textile and footwear industries,” he said.
In plain terms, that means the two countries want to make more things together — from farm produce processed into export-ready food, to clothing, textiles and footwear manufactured within the region rather than imported from further afield. Every link added to those value chains is a workshop, a factory floor or a packhouse employing local people.
Complementary strengths, shared growth
The forum will also explore how South Africa and Namibia can leverage their complementary strengths to build resilient regional ecosystems, promote value addition and accelerate industrialisation in key sectors, including manufacturing.
Fittingly, the gathering will run under the theme “Driving Regional Industrialisation, Investment and Sustainable Growth Through Strategic South Africa–Namibia Partnerships.”
For two economies bound by history, geography and the SACU family, Friday’s forum is a reminder that Southern Africa’s growth story is strongest when it is written together. If the discussions in Midrand translate into smoother borders and busier factories, workers and businesses in both countries stand to win.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
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