EU Commissioners Jutta Urpilainen and Thierry Breton's visit to Namibia

The two EU Commissioners visit to Namibia included high-level engagements and site visits, centred around the Memorandum of Understanding on sustainable value chains of raw materials and renewable hydrogen, circular economy, and education.There was also a strong focus on regional and multilateral issues, through the high level engagement with the Head of State and the Deputy Prime Minister.

Commissioner Urpilainen met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. Deputy PM Nandi-Ndaitwah is the vice President of the SWAPO party and is likely to become Namibia’s next President after the 2024 elections.

On the UN International Day of Education (24 January), Commissioner Urpilainen visited the EU-funded Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre at the mix settlement alongside representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare and UNICEF.

The ECD centre has now 3 classrooms in the kindergarten hosting 60 children. There is still work to be done to meet the acceptable quality standards under the new programming, including in terms of sanitation, playground, shade and more.

The EU has been a strong supporter of Early Childhood Development and Pre-primary education in Namibia through Budget Support, which has proven to reinforce policy dialogue with the Government and contribute to improvements in children access to early care and education in the country.

In parallel schedules, Commissioner Breton paid a visit to operating AfriTin mine that is currently exploiting tin at a rate of 1320 tonnes per annum. It is undergoing a phase 1 expansion that will enlarge production to lithium and tantalum, two of the EU listed Critical Raw Materials. This mine is being run following Environmental, Social and Governance standards and implementing IFC’s Performance Standards.

Back in the Capital, Commissioner Urpilainen had lunch with the Minister of Finance, Iipumbu Shiimi and the Director General of the National Planning Commission (NPC), Obeth Kandjoze. The lunch provided an opportunity for Commissioner Urpilainen to discuss topics of mutual interests. Following this engagement, the Commissioner officially launched the Annual Action Plan 2022 together with the DG of NPC, the Minister of Finance, and Minister of Education.

The AAP 2022 is composed by three actions:

1) Budget support on foundational education (ECD/PPE) of EUR 16 million

2) Programme on Governance and Gender equality EUR 2.5 million and

3) Technical Cooperation Facility (EUR 5.5 million).

Commissioner Urpilainen met representatives of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that were successful in the most recent call for proposals organised by the EU Delegation. On this occasion, you will sign 5 grants worth EUR 1.8 million. The grants aim at strengthening local CSOs engagement as actors of good governance and development at country level and cover urban development, youth (urban and rural), women empowerment, media development, nutrition and food security.

The EU has been financing CSOs with about EUR 10 million so far, targeting – among others – democracy, governance, rural and urban development, human rights as well as natural resources management.

The Commissioners visited a recycling centre of Rent-a-Drum, which is about to be acquired by French company, Séché). The recent EU-funded project by City of Bremen (€1.2M) on solid waste management, and R-a-D initiatives have strong synergies in circular economy that will be exploited during implementation, with potential strong social and environmental benefits for the citizens of Windhoek. It is also a good example of Team Europe considering the involvement of Finland (Block Solutions), Germany (Bremen) and France.

The EU Commissioners participated in a roundtable on sustainable raw materials value chains and renewably hydrogen, gathering key Namibian and European players in both industries to discuss the implementation of the EU-Namibia strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen. The roundtable was followed by lunch with the Minister for Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, accompanied by the Mining Commissioner Isabella Chirchir, the NPC DG Obeth Kandjoze and the Presidential Economic Advisor on Green Hydrogen, James Mnyupe. The Commissioners took this as an opportunity to go deeper into the discussions on the EU-Namibia partnership on raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen

The Commissioners met with the Head of State of Namibia, H.E Dr. Hage Geingob, accompanied by the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Minister of Mines and Energy, Minister of Environment, Tourism and Forestry, Minister of Presidency, DG of NPC and other high level officials.

This meeting provided an opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations, especially implementing the EU-Namibia Partnership on sustainable raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen but also in other areas covered by our cooperation under Global Gateway (green transition, skills and education, governance, gender quality, transport). With the media presence throughout the meeting, the EU raised very clearly the global threat emanating from the Russian invasion on Ukraine. Namibia re-confirmed its strong support to multilateralism despite its neutral position on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. As current chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ for Politics, Defence and Security, President Geingob is hosting the first Organ Troika Summit on 31 January in the capital Windhoek.

Before taking off, the Commissioners engaged in a group photo with the EU Delegation to Namibia Staff and debriefed EU Heads of Missions present in Namibia (FR, FI, DE, PT, ES). Cooperation is constructive and effective. A Team Europe Initiative on inclusive green growth is currently being developed.