Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Hage Geingob and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Monday discussed issues of bilateral concern, including, agriculture, the fight against the pandemic and tourism.
In particular, the Emir expressed interest for his team to visit Namibia and to explore potential areas of investment in infrastructure, energy and housing.
President Geingob highlighted various areas of potential interest including in the airport, seaport and energy-related infrastructure that could be explored.
Green schemes and the Neckartal dam were also considered as potential areas of collaboration.
President Geingob praised the professional manner in which Qatar had conducted themselves in their appraisal of their energy interest noting that Namibia is a country of processes, systems and institutions.
The Minister of Energy and State Affairs of Qatar expressed his excitement, noting that the area had the potential of more than 6 billion barrels of oil and that Qatar Energy was excited to invest the requisite capital to reach commercial viability.
A key aspect to be developed to facilitate this additional investment included deliberations about double taxation agreements which would be key to providing the requisite security to the prospective Qatari investment.
The Emir noted that they respect the Namibian Government’s noting that its governance architecture is among the best on the continent and that they were confident their investment was in good hands.
The Emir of Qatar promised to send in a team from the Qatar Investment Authority to explore additional areas of investment.
