Geingob courts investors in Brussels

President Hage Geingob is currently wooing investors in Europe, where he is attending the European Union’s inaugural Global Gateway Forum (GGF) and the first European Union(EU)-Namibia Green Hydrogen and Critical Raw Materials Business Forum.

Presidential press secretary Alfredo Hengari yesterday told Desert Radio the president’s meeting with the EU is significant in the sense that it advances Namibia’s position as a key emerging player in the green hydrogen space.

“Namibia has been working hard over the past few years to diversify its economy, and has identified renewable hydrogen as one of the very important sources of that diversification strategy,” he said.

He said the second meeting between Geingob and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in the space of one year demonstrates that Namibia has made progress in the development of the green energy sector.

“As we speak, investment has been made tangibly in this country, specifically in the Erongo region. Jobs have been created, and Namibia is actively working towards the decarbonisation agenda of the world, while at the same time strengthening economic opportunities for our young people and growing the economy,” Hengari said.

Von der Leyen is a German physician and politician, and is serving as the 13th president of the European Commission since 2019.

Geingob commenced his engagements yesterday when he delivered the keynote address at the Namibia-EU Business Forum.

This, according to Hengari, is the first forum of its kind between the two parties, where more than 100 business leaders from Namibia and the EU will be sitting in one room to discuss how they can develop a green hydrogen industry “that can supply critical raw materials in a manner that is sustainable, while creating jobs for Namibians through material beneficiation between the countries”.

Tomorrow the president will speak and deliver the keynote address at the leaders’ session, which specifically focuses on the development of green hydrogen in Namibia as well as globally, Hengari said.

“This goes to demonstrate that there is a lot of progress we should look at as Namibians in the development of a very important sector that has the potential to create jobs and a lot of investment for our country,” he said.

Hengari said on the margins of his engagements, the president will also meet with the deputy secretary general of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, to discuss the decarbonisation agenda.

“I must also mention that there are meetings with the special envoy of Germany on climate change, and another meeting with the vice president of the European Investment Bank, Thomas Ostros.

“The European Investment Bank is playing a key role in providing financing, especially for European companies seeking to make investments in the green energy space,” Hengari said, adding that Namibia is on the path of green industrialisation, and Geingob is urging everyone to support this important agenda.

The president’s participation in the GGF is on the invitation of Von der Leyen.

Among other issues, the forum is focusing on the EU’s Global Gateway Forum strategy and its role in promoting global investment in infrastructure, centred around its priority themes: digital, energy, and climate, transport, health and education and research.

The EU, through the Global Gateway Forum, which was launched in December 2021, offers partner countries around the world the opportunity to develop smart, clean, and secure digital, energy, and transport infrastructure, and to strengthen health and education systems.