Minister Selma Ashipala-Musavyi: Namibia seeks new opportunities with China

From April 11 to 18, Namibia's Minister of International Relations and Trade Selma Ashipala-Musavyi paid an official visit to China.

She met with government officials and business leaders in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Beijing, looking to deepen Namibia's partnership with China, especially in trade, investment and industrial development.

As China prepares to roll out zero-tariff treatment for African countries with diplomatic ties starting May 1, new opportunities are emerging for African exports and industrial growth. What does this mean for Namibia?

And with 2026 designated as the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, how are the two countries working to bring their peoples closer together?

China Africa Talk sat down with Minister Ashipala-Musavyi on April 17.

China Africa Talk: How's your trip so far? What are some of the achievements and priorities of your trip?

Selma Ashipala-Musavyi: Yes indeed, I'm leading a delegation to China. I started in the Guangdong Province, I was in Shenzhen and then after that I went to Guangzhou. I'm here to enhance and strengthen our bilateral relations, which come a long way. My focus here has been two-fold: one is to strengthen bilateral relations between the two governments, but also to enhance our bilateral trade, to invite Chinese business people to increasingly take an interest in Namibia, come and invest in Namibia, so that we can bring about a positive trade balance between our two countries. In terms of what I've achieved so far, I've seen that there's been growing interest, everywhere we went, there was really genuine interest in Namibia, in what Namibia has to offer in terms of bilateral trade, in terms of tourism, also people-to-people ties.

China Africa Talk: Starting from May 1 this year, China will implement zero-tariff treatment to 53 African countries with diplomatic ties. What opportunities does this policy present for Namibia, particularly in terms of exports and industrial development?

Selma Ashipala-Musavyi: First I need to express Namibia's thanks and appreciation to the government of the People's Republic of China, because I think the gesture from China to extend the zero-tariff measure to African countries is a direct product of the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation, FOCAC. So we are very happy about that. And we welcome that. How Namibia is going to benefit is manifold. First, it will build confidence between our two countries and also our two private sectors because non-tariff measures are a confidence building measure. Second, I think it will generate industrialization and optimize it and enhance it in order for us to gain more access to the Chinese market. I think it will accelerate the industrialization process in our country and also Africa in general. For Namibia, we're a coastal state. All of our neighbors who do not have access to the sea depend on our port, so it means more businesses for the Walvis Bay Port because the cargo has to go through our port. And I think it will be really a way of what Africa has been talking. When we say the Africa we want, yes, we are endowed with resources, but we do not want to remain a source of raw materials. We want to add value to our products, be it minerals or agricultural products, so that we can become more relevant to the Chinese economy, but also to the global economy. So we are looking at it from that perspective and I think it's a very welcome measure.

China Africa Talk: China and Namibia have enjoyed long-standing diplomatic relations. How would you characterize the bilateral ties? What milestones have stood out to you?

Selma Ashipala-Musavyi: Our bilateral diplomatic relationship is now clocking 36 years, but that is after Namibia's independence. Our relationship started long before Namibia's independence. As you know, both our countries have diplomatic missions. The bilateral visits between our two countries are outstanding. Every time during the inauguration of a new president in Namibia, China has always sent a very high level delegation to Namibia. So the relationship is strong. In terms of bilateral cooperation in all the areas that I've mentioned, agriculture, education, health, transport, fisheries, every sector we have bilateral cooperation. In fact, even the port that I was talking about, the deepening of the port happened with Chinese technology. What we are now embarking on currently is really to focus on the new and emerging sectors. Mining, as I said, value addition, green energy, value addition, AI that is now what we are focusing on because that is where you have an advantage. We come together. We create a win-win situation.

China Africa Talk: In today's world of uncertainty, how can Namibia and China collaborate in addressing common challenges such as global trade and climate change, and safeguard the shared interests of developing countries? 

Selma Ashipala-Musavyi: Namibia and China work very close at the multilateral level. In most of the issues we have similar positions. Both of our countries believe in resolving disputes peacefully and I think we are going to continue to do that. When I served in New York in the Security Council, we serve with the Chinese delegation and we shall occasionally compare our notes. I think both of us strongly believe in multilateralism, especially now that we live in a world characterized by global tension. And we also compare notes occasionally. We believe that we need to have a world order that is beneficial to all the countries. We recently just came from a meeting of the World Trade Organization in Cameroon where we are also imposing similar position in terms of a global trade. So it's an all-round relationship that is mutually beneficial to our two countries and we are committed to continuing that relationship.