From April 22-25, The Norwegian-African Business Association (NABA) in collaboration with Norwegian Energy Partners (Norwep) led a successful Business Mission to Windhoek, Namibia.

With a focus on energy, the visit underlined Namibia's rapidly growing as an energy nation with the rich discovery of oil & gas offshore. As a result of this growth the Norwegian delegation participated at the Namibia International Energy Conference alongside having high level meetings with policymakers and members of the business community.

The Business Mission was kicked off by a welcome sunset reception hosted by Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas at The Weinberg Hotel on Tuesday 22nd of April.

Group photo with the President of the Republic of Namibia, H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

Arguably the highlight of the business mission was a roundtable meeting with the President of the Republic of Namibia, H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at the State House in Windhoek on the morning of the 25th of April. The delegation spent one and a half hours with the president and the meeting underscored the long-standing historical relationship between Namibia and Norway, dating back to the pre-independence era, and reaffirmed Norway’s continued partnership in key sectors such as fisheries and financial development. President Nandi-Ndaitwah emphasized the significance of welcoming Norwegian companies at the onset of the new administration, especially amid global economic challenges. “Namibia is open for both local and international investment”.

The Norwegian delegation expressed interest in exploring opportunities within Namibia’s energy and natural resource sectors, stressing the importance of skills transfer, local content development, and inclusive revenue distribution.

At the roundtable meeting with President Nandi-Ndaitwah, DNV also officially inaugurated DNV Marine & Offshore Namibia PTY, which marks a new chapter in DNVs commitments to Namibia's sustainable growth in the maritime, offshore and energy industries.

During the Business Mission, the delegation met with the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Namcore and the Planning Commission discussing the growing need for investment and capacity building into the oil & gas and infrastructure in Namibia.

On the private sector side the delegation participated at the Namibia International Energy Conference. The conference attracted policy makers and 800+ delegates from the global energy sector. The delegation also met with decision makers from Shell, Azule Energy and Rhino Energy.

The week was topped off by with a roundtable discussion hosted by Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, which provided an in-depth look into key topics such as Petroleum legislation, Local content rules, Corporate Taxation Registration of a company, Local partner requirements, Procurement procedures, Import and Export of Equipment, Getting paid and expatriation of funds and Visa and work permits.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all of the delegates that participated, representatives from government and the private sector in Namibia, especially the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), as well as the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for making the business mission an outstanding success.

The business mission has clearly highlighted the opportunities for partnership between Norway and Namibia, and we look forward to building on the momentum generated during this business mission and exploring new avenues for mutually beneficial business ventures in the future.