Opening remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the occasion of the 4th South Africa/ Namibia Bi-National Commission Business Forum

Friday, 17 July 2026

Programme Director,
Your Excellency, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah,
Ministers from the Governments of Namibia and South Africa,
High Commissioners,
Captains of Industry,
Business Leaders,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honour to welcome our Namibian brothers and sisters to South Africa.

Whenever I am in a room full of businesspeople, I always say that I can smell money.

But what I am really smelling is opportunity; investment; factories being built; businesses expanding and people finding jobs.

That is the kind of money both our countries needs more of.

This Business Forum takes place at an important moment in the relationship between our two countries.

Earlier today, President Nandi-Ndaitwah and I concluded the Fourth Session of the South Africa-Namibia Bi-National Commission.

Our discussions reaffirmed what history has long taught us: that South Africa and Namibia are strongest when we work together.

Our two nations are bound together by geography, by history and by the enduring bonds forged during our common struggle for liberation.

Today, however, we gather not to reflect on the past alone.

We gather to shape our shared future.

That future will not be determined only by governments.

It will be determined by entrepreneurs who identify new opportunities. By investors who take calculated risks. By innovators who solve problems. By workers whose talent and dedication transforms ideas into productive enterprises.

Business has a decisive role to play in translating the political friendship between our countries into lasting economic prosperity.

Political solidarity must become economic partnership.

Shared history must become shared prosperity.

Friendship must become investment.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The global economy is changing rapidly.

Global supply chains are being reconfigured.

Countries are seeking trusted partners.

The transition to cleaner energy is creating entirely new industries.

Digital technologies are reshaping production and trade.

At a time like this, South Africa and Namibia have a remarkable opportunity.

Rather than competing against one another, we should position ourselves as complementary economies capable of serving regional, continental and global markets.

Together, we can become a gateway for investment into Southern Africa.

Together, we can build regional value chains that create jobs across our borders.

Together, we can demonstrate that African countries grow faster when they integrate their economies.

This is precisely the vision that underpins the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The progress we have made is encouraging.

Trade between our two countries has grown substantially in recent years.

South Africa remains Namibia's largest trading partner.

This demonstrates both the strength of our relationship and the confidence our businesses have in one another.

Yet we should not be satisfied.

Trade has grown, but it remains concentrated in a relatively narrow range of products.

South Africa exports a diversified basket of manufactured goods and services to Namibia.

Namibia's exports to South Africa remain heavily concentrated in minerals, particularly gold.

Diversification is therefore not simply desirable- it is an economic necessity.

A more diversified trading relationship will make both our economies more resilient, create higher-value industries and generate more sustainable employment.

Investment presents an even greater opportunity.

South African companies have invested significantly in Namibia over many years.

These investments have contributed to Namibia's industrial development, financial services, mining, retail and telecommunications sectors.

We now wish to see far greater two-way investment.

We encourage Namibian companies to see South Africa not only as a destination for exports, but as a destination for investment, innovation and long-term partnership.

Likewise, we encourage South African companies to deepen their investments in Namibia's productive economy.

The objective should not simply be to sell more products across our borders.

It should be to manufacture together, innovate together and compete together in regional and international markets.

Governments have a responsibility to make this easier.

We have therefore agreed to continue removing unnecessary obstacles to trade and investment.

Our respective investment promotion agencies should work together to provide practical support for businesses entering each other's markets.

They should simplify processes, improve information sharing and assist companies-particularly small and medium-sized enterprises-to expand across our borders.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) remains one of our greatest strategic assets.

As the world's oldest customs union, SACU has demonstrated remarkable resilience.

Today it is evolving to meet the demands of a changing global economy.

Our recent Summit agreed that SACU must become an engine of industrialisation, regional value chains and greater competitiveness.

The priority sectors we have identified-including agro-processing, meat and leather, fruit and vegetables, textiles and clothing, cosmetics and essential oils-offer significant opportunities for joint investment.

South Africa's Special Economic Zones and Namibia's industrial development initiatives provide an ideal platform for these partnerships.

I encourage businesses gathered here today to move beyond discussions and identify concrete projects that will strengthen these regional value chains.

Perhaps the greatest opportunity before us lies in the industries of the future.

Namibia's extraordinary renewable energy resources position the country to become a global leader in green hydrogen production.

South Africa contributes advanced industrial capabilities, engineering expertise, research institutions, sophisticated financial markets, world-class ports and an expanding manufacturing base.

Together we can establish Southern Africa as a globally competitive hub for green hydrogen and green industrialisation.

The same applies to critical minerals, renewable energy, logistics, digital infrastructure, data centres, advanced manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, financial services and the blue economy.

These are sectors where our comparative advantages complement one another.

They are sectors that can create thousands of quality jobs for our young people.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Business succeeds where there is confidence.

Confidence grows where governments provide policy certainty, invest in infrastructure, uphold the rule of law and create an environment in which enterprise can flourish.

South Africa is committed to implementing the reforms necessary to improve our investment climate, expand infrastructure, strengthen institutions and unlock faster economic growth.

We invite Namibian investors to become part of that journey.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The generation that came before us secured political freedom.

Our responsibility is to secure economic freedom.

We owe it to our people to build economies that create opportunity rather than exclusion.

We owe it to our young people to create jobs that restore hope and dignity.

And we owe it to future generations to build a Southern African region that is more integrated, more competitive and more prosperous.

Let this Forum not be remembered merely for the speeches we have delivered.

Let it be remembered for the partnerships that were forged, the investments that were announced and the businesses that were created.

Let us leave here determined to transform friendship into enterprise, opportunity into investment, and cooperation into shared prosperity.

As I said earlier, the next chapter in the relationship between Namibia and South Africa should not be written only by governments.

It should be written by the entrepreneurs who build businesses, the workers who create value, the innovators who develop new technologies and the investors who have the confidence to back Africa's future.

Together, let us build not merely a stronger partnership between our two countries, but a stronger and more prosperous Southern Africa.

I thank you.