President Cyril Ramaphosa: South Africa–Namibia Bi-National Commission

President Cyril Ramaphosa opening remarks at the Fourth Session of The South Africa–Namibia Bi-National Commission, OR Tambo Building, Tshwane, 17 July 2026

Your Excellency and Dear Sister, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers from the Namibian and South African Delegations,
Senior Officials,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Your Excellency, your Ministers and your distinguished delegation to South Africa for the Fourth Session of the South Africa–Namibia Bi-National Commission.

Your visit is a reaffirmation of one of the most enduring and treasured partnerships on our continent.

Namibia is not merely our neighbour.

Namibia is our sister nation.

The friendship between our countries was forged not by convenience, but through struggle, sacrifice and solidarity.

Together, our peoples resisted colonialism and apartheid.

Together, we stood for justice, freedom and human dignity.

Together, we helped shape a Southern Africa that is today defined by democracy, peace and cooperation.

It is this shared history that continues to inspire our shared future.

This Commission therefore represents far more than a bilateral meeting.

It represents our collective determination to build a partnership that advances prosperity for our peoples and contributes to the development and stability of our region and continent.

I wish to commend our Ministers, senior officials and technical experts for the considerable work undertaken during the past three days.

Their deliberations have prepared the ground for today’s engagement and demonstrate the seriousness with which both our governments approach this partnership.

Today we build on the outcomes of previous Bi-National Commission sessions and the extensive body of agreements that already bind our two countries.

The true measure of our success, however, will not be the number of agreements we sign, but the effectiveness with which we implement them.

Implementation must now become our foremost priority.

Excellency,

We meet at a defining moment for our continent.

Africa has become central to the future of the global economy.

The world increasingly looks to Africa for the critical minerals, energy resources, agricultural potential and strategic partnerships that will shape the industries of the future.

The question before us is therefore not whether Africa possesses these resources.

The question is whether Africans will capture the value they create.

South Africa and Namibia have both the opportunity and the responsibility to ensure that our natural endowments become engines of industrialisation, innovation, skills development and decent work.

Our objective should be to build regional value chains that produce finished products rather than merely exporting raw materials.

For too long Africa has exported opportunity while importing prosperity.

We have exported raw materials and imported manufactured goods.

We have created industries elsewhere while unemployment has remained one of our greatest challenges at home.

That model cannot define Africa’s future.

The days when our minerals leave our shores simply as rock and dust must steadily come to an end.

Instead, we should increasingly process, refine, manufacture and innovate here in Southern Africa, creating value for our own economies and opportunities for our own people.

Excellency,

There are boundless opportunities before us.

The Orange Basin is emerging as one of the world’s most promising new energy frontiers.

Its development presents us with an opportunity not simply to extract oil and gas, but to establish an integrated regional energy economy encompassing exploration, engineering, refining, petrochemicals, logistics, maritime services and advanced manufacturing.

We congratulate Namibia on its remarkable offshore discoveries, which have rightly attracted global attention.

South Africa likewise continues to explore the considerable potential of our own offshore resources.

Given our shared geology and geographical proximity, there is a compelling case for closer collaboration in exploration, infrastructure development, skills development and investment promotion.

Equally significant are the opportunities presented by green hydrogen.

South Africa’s Boegoebaai Deepwater Port and Green Hydrogen Development Programme, situated close to our common border, presents an important opportunity for collaboration in building a globally competitive green industrial corridor linking our two countries.

Our cooperation in mining should also deepen.

Beyond uranium, diamonds and copper, Namibia’s expanding portfolio of critical minerals presents exciting opportunities for joint exploration, geological mapping, scientific research and downstream beneficiation.

Finalising our Memorandum of Understanding on geology and mining will provide an important framework for this work.

Our respective Councils for Geoscience should work closely together in undertaking joint scientific assessments and unlocking new investment opportunities.

Water security is another strategic imperative.

As water-scarce countries sharing important transboundary water systems and aquifers, our cooperation in integrated water resource management is essential not only for sustainable development but also for climate resilience and long-term regional stability.

Excellency,

Trade and investment remain central pillars of our relationship.

South Africa welcomes the growing presence of South African companies investing in Namibia, and equally encourages greater Namibian investment into South Africa.

We should actively encourage partnerships between our private sectors, development finance institutions and state-owned enterprises.

Together, we can identify bankable projects in infrastructure, logistics, agriculture, manufacturing, renewable energy and digital technologies.

Removing unnecessary barriers to trade, improving border efficiency and strengthening transport corridors will be essential if we are to realise the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Within SACU, SADC and the African Union, our countries remain steadfast in advancing regional integration and the aspirations of Agenda 2063.

Excellency,

Peace and development are inseparable.

Without peace there can be no investment.

Without security there can be no sustainable development.

South Africa and Namibia therefore reaffirm our commitment to African-led solutions to African challenges.

We remain concerned by the continued instability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the security situation in Cabo Delgado, developments in Sudan and South Sudan, and the persistent instability across parts of the Sahel.

Together, we will continue supporting regional and continental efforts aimed at achieving lasting peace.

At the international level, we remain committed to multilateralism, international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

We will continue working together to advance the reform of global governance institutions, including the United Nations Security Council, so that they better reflect contemporary realities and Africa’s rightful place within the international community.

Excellency,

Migration remains a shared continental challenge requiring shared continental solutions.

South Africa remains committed to enforcing its immigration laws firmly, fairly and consistently, while upholding the constitutional values and human dignity that define our democracy.

We believe that sustained dialogue, enhanced border cooperation, orderly labour mobility and inclusive economic development remain the most effective long-term responses to migration pressures across our continent.

Finally, Excellency,

Our generation has inherited from those who came before us a relationship built through sacrifice and sustained through trust.

Our responsibility is to leave to future generations a partnership that is even stronger—one that delivers opportunity, prosperity and hope to every citizen of South Africa and Namibia.

May this Fourth Session of our Bi-National Commission be remembered not simply for the agreements we conclude, but for the momentum we generate and the future we build together.

It is therefore my great honour to declare the Fourth Session of the South Africa–Namibia Bi-National Commission officially open.

I thank you.

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