 "Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives a warm welcome in Namibia. He will hold bilateral talks with President Nandi-Ndaitwah and deliver an address at the Parliament of Namibia. Image Courtesy: @MEAIndia/X")
Following his successful Brazil visit during which he attended the Brics summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Namibia on Wednesday (July 9) on the final leg of his five-nation visit. This is PM Modi’s first visit to the African nation and a third by any Indian prime minister.
PM Modi is visiting Namibia at the invitation of President Nandi-Ndaitwah, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press release in New Delhi ahead of his five-nation tour to Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Brazil and Namibia. During his visit, the prime minister will hold bilateral talks with President Nandi-Ndaitwah. The prime minister will also pay homage to the Founding Father and first President of Namibia, late Dr Sam Nujoma. He is also expected to deliver an address at the Parliament of Namibia.
But why has PM Modi chosen to visit Namibia? What value does the African nation hold for India?
Namibia and its historical ties with India
Located on the southwestern coast of Africa, Namibia is a large and sparsely populated country. It has enjoyed stability since gaining independence in 1990 after a long struggle against rule by South Africa.
The arid country is endowed with natural resources, which include its wildlife and scenic terrain, agricultural products, and minerals all of which inject millions of dollars into the economy of Namibia.
India has a rich and historical relationship with the African nation, spanning back to the late 1940s. In 1946, New Delhi was among the first nations to raise the question of Namibian independence in the United Nations. Moreover, the first SWAPO (which led Namibia’s liberation struggle) Embassy abroad was established in New Delhi in 1986.
Following Namibia gaining independence in 1990, the Indian Observer Mission in the country was upgraded to a high commission while Namibia opened its full-fledged resident Mission in New Delhi in March 1994.
Over the years, India’s ties with Namibia have improved as a result of high-level visits by Indian leaders. In 1998, then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Namibia before heading to Durban for a meeting of NAM.
Later, in 2016, former President Pranab Mukherjee visited the African nation and in an address to the Namibian Parliament, he said that India “was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the leaders and the people of Namibia in their liberation struggle”, and “remain[ed] committed to a strong development partnership with Namibia in the South-South framework”.
Modi eyes Namibia’s uranium and diamonds
But why is Namibia important to India? The African country is a resource-rich nation; mining contributes 14 per cent to the country’s GDP.
One of PM Modi’s main focus will be the country’s rich minerals; it is the third largest producer of uranium in the world, and one of the largest producers of lithium, zinc, and rare earth metals.
For those who don’t know, India is looking to increase its uranium imports until 2033 to fuel the nuclear reactors being built as part of the country’s energy security strategy. “From 2025 to 2033, the Indian government will cumulatively import at least 9,000 MTU (metric tonne unit) uranium to power our new upcoming rectors under the National Nuclear Energy Mission,” said one government official to Moneycontrol earlier in June.
For this reason, Modi is hoping to further explore a critical mineral partnership with Namibia. In fact, India’s High Commissioner to Namibia, Rahul Shrivastava, has said that India is looking at importing uranium from Namibia. “We are looking at export of uranium from Namibia to India and there have been recent oil and gas discoveries in Namibia, that is also an area of interest.”
Besides uranium, Modi is also interested in Namibia’s diamond mines. Namibia has the richest known marine diamond deposits in the world, estimated to total more than 80 million carats. However, Namibia does not sell rough diamonds directly to India. Namibian rough diamonds arrive in India via London, Antwerp and other places. However, officials in the know say that the PM will lay the groundwork for more direct engagement.
Enhancing trade with Namibia
Through PM Modi’s visit to Namibia, India is also looking to enhance its trade ties with the African nation.
Bilateral trade between the two nations has been experiencing a positive growth in recent years. It was $278 million in 2022-23 with India’s exports amounting to $240 million. Between April and November 2023, the two-way trade touched $654 million, after registering a 178 per cent growth. India’s exports were at $418 million and imports from Namibia amounted to $235 million.
Other areas of cooperation
But Modi’s agenda for the visit will go beyond trade and energy. India is expected to sign fresh MoUs in healthcare, digital training, education and defence. A new Centre of Excellence in IT is being set up in Windhoek to train Namibian youth and civil servants in digital governance and cybersecurity. On defence, India is open to officer-level training, logistics support, and exploring non-lethal technology exchanges.
Cheetah reintroduction in India
Apart from trade ties, Namibia has gained significance owing to the cheetah relocation programme. In September 2022, PM Modi released eight cheetahs translocated from Namibia to India at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh as part of the big cat’s reintroduction into India’s wild. This transfer was the world’s first ever intercontinental trans-location of a major carnivore species and attracted global interest and attention.
Countering China’s presence
According to analysts, PM Modi’s visit to Namibia can also be seen as counterbalance to China’s influence in the country as well as the African continent. Beijing has ties with the African nation dating back to the latter’s independence.
In 2018, China and Namibia formed a comprehensive strategic partnership. Moreover, Namibia adheres to the One China policy when it comes to Taiwan. The two countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Cooperation, ushering in a new era of bilateral cooperation.
Shortly after China and Namibia signed the MoU, Beijing faced criticism from Western media, which asserted that it was using the initiative to expand its influence over participating nations including Namibia.
With inputs from agencies