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Addis Ababa – The Bank of Namibia held its 21st Annual Symposium on November 5 under the theme “Positioning Namibia to reap the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area”. Representing the United Nations system was the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Vera Songwe, who spoke on “How to position Namibia to reap the benefits of the Free Zone. African Continental Trade – Experience and Lessons from Other Countries “.
Citing CEPA’s analysis indicating that Namibia will benefit positively from the AfCFTA, Ms. Songwe outlined the opportunities to benefit from the Agreement and underlined that being in SADC, the country has the advantage of being part of a trading bloc that Africa seeks better. practices. Additionally, with SADC playing the most active commercial role on the continent, the AfCFTA offers opportunities to level the playing field in regional economic communities (CERs), including AMU / UMA in the north, EAC in the east, ECCAS in Africa. central, ECOWAS in the west and SADC in the south, in addition to others such as CEN-SAD, COMESA and IGAD.
While Namibia is poised to export the textile, food and agribusiness sectors, among others, Ms Songwe urged greater ambition and emphasized the need to move to higher value complex sectors and services where the country can seek comparative advantage. .
He noted that Namibia’s logistics sector is a potential entry area, providing this service to the entire continent. The country, he stressed, could take advantage of the technology and undertake work to evaluate its national competitiveness strategy and strengthen its competitive advantage within the African regional value chain and supply chain. Noting that South Africa is the largest R&D spender in Africa, Namibia could benefit from such a regional neighbor.
Furthermore, while Namibia must continue to benefit from existing sectors, the true benefits of the AfCFTA will come from drawing on new sectors for job creation, including e-commerce and contributing to trade-related services such as phytosanitary services and sanitary facilities for the subregion and beyond. she added.
He also praised the country for standing out as a leader in sanitary standards during the COVID-19 pandemic and said that as Africa opens up to trade, Namibia can provide services to the continent in the area of standard setting for export to the rest of the world. world.
The 21st Symposium also addressed the potential unintended consequences of trade. However, the merits were recognized, particularly for a small and open economy like Namibia’s, but one that is highly integrated into SADC and the rest of the world, through its bilateral trading partners, including China and the EU.
He called on Namibia to remain a champion of the AfCFTA, advocating for the ratification of the Agreement, without losing sight of the service sectors that the country can develop, in the context of industrialization on the continent. The country would need to invest in human capital, including STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), including underserved populations, including women and youth.
For his part, Mr. Sen Pang, the UN Resident Coordinator in his presentation by the Executive Secretary of the ECA emphasized that “this is an issue of great relevance for the United Nations system in Namibia, and the support of the UN to the Government of the Republic of Namibia. “
For more information, contact: Eunice Ajambo Economist and Development Coordinator, Office of the Resident Coordinator, UN Namibia
Ajambo is an org point
Bank of Namibia Symposium Resources: https://www.bon.com.na/Annual-Symposium/Annual-Symposium.aspx
Additional coverage: https://youtu.be/EJjHohp0jgc
