EU-Namibia Business Forum - Recap of Day Two

Namibian President Hage Geingob addressing the EU-Namibia Business Forum 2023 in Brussels.
26 October 2023

The #ENBF2023 has officially come to a close! Let us recap the key highlights from this second and last day focusing on Critical Raw Materials:

➡️We had the honor to start the second #ENBF2023 day with a keynote address by Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Deputy Prime Minister, Republic of Namibia, emphasizing the importance of strong economic and environmental partnerships between Namibia and the European Union. 🇳🇦🇪🇺

➡️We then welcomed Marjeta Jager for a keynote address, followed by two presentations by Peter Handley and Sikongo Haihambo highlighting how to strengthen the partnership between Namibia and the EU by exploring the alignment between the EU Critical Raw Material Package and Namibia's CRM policies.

➡️Our first panel discussion of the day featured Anthony Viljoen, Joaquin Lopez, Andre Ufer, and moderator Veston Malango, who had an interesting discussion and Q&A about the technological advancements and the opportunities of Namibia's CRM sector.

➡️After a small break, we continued with our second panel discussion of the day, exploring joint ventures, partnerships, and strategic investments for beneficiation and value-added strategies in CRM with panelists Christopher Drysdale, Zebra Kasete, Aleksi Salo, IIka Von Dalwigk, Peter Kovacs and moderator Cécile Billaux 🤝

➡️Andrew Kanime, Kristof Waterschoot, Boudewijn Siemons, Laurent Remy, and moderator Sergio Josa Oliete, then discussed Namibia's strategic positioning as a Green Logistics Hub and how it aims to achieve net-zero emissions in transportation

➡️After lunch, we were delighted to welcome Hon. Tinne Van der Straeten (Minister of Energy of Belgium) who emphasized the importance of collaboration between Europe and Africa on renewable energy as a first step to a greener future for all 🌍

The afternoon was also dedicated to two parallel sessions:
➡️The first session focused on Namibia's Independent Power
Producers (IPPs) and their pivotal role in fostering energy independence through renewable energy with Robert Kahimise, Kahenge Simon Haulofu, Rita Madeiraand moderator Jan-Barend Scheepers
➡️The second session was on the topic of employment and how Namibia aims to improve the skills of its workforce in the field of GH2 and CRM, with Alfred Kent, Anicia Peters, Toni Beukes, Frank Mischler, Tom Verlinden, Veiko Karu and moderator Francois van Schalkwyk 👷‍♂️

✅It was then time to conclude the two days of the #ENBF2023 with closing statements by Nangula Uaandja (Chairperson & CEO, NIPDB), and Hans Christian Stausboll (Director for Africa DG INTPA, European Commission), who were hopeful for the future of green energy and a strong EU-Namibia Partnership in CRM and GH2. 🤩

Thank you to all our speakers for their captivating insights, and to all of you who joined us, whether on-site in Brussels or online 🙌

Source: LinkedIn post

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.