Fourth SA-Namibia commission opens
Senior officials from Namibia and South Africa began talks in Pretoria this morning, opening the fourth session of the Bi-National Commission (BNC) between the two countries.
The Senior Officials Meeting runs from 14 to 15 July, ahead of a Ministerial session on 16 July and a Presidential Session, also known as the BNC Summit, on 17 July.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will host and co-chair the summit with his Namibian counterpart, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
Six areas are on the agenda: trade, investment and economic integration; border management and boundary matters; infrastructure, energy and connectivity; disaster management and humanitarian cooperation; defence, security and transnational challenges; and regional, continental and global issues.
The commission was inaugurated in Windhoek in November 2013 and meets alternately between the two capitals. It works through diplomatic, economic, social, and defence and security committees, each co-chaired by counterpart government departments on both sides.
Trade features prominently on the sidelines. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition will host a South Africa-Namibia Business Forum on 17 July at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, under the theme "Driving Regional Industrialisation, Investment and Sustainable Growth Through Strategic South Africa-Namibia Partnerships".
The forum aims to identify barriers to cross-border trade and align transport and logistics strategies to ease the movement of processed goods across the border, an official said.
It will also examine how the Southern African Customs Union Industrialisation Strategy and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement can be put
