Staff Reporter
“WE want to change the way that the rest of the world views Africa. We want to change the narrative so that Africa is not seen as a place of death, disease and disaster, but as a place of opportunity.”
This was stated by United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Akunna Cook, at a meeting between a US delegation and government officials including Namibia’s Vice President Nangolo Mbumba in Windhoek on Tuesday.
Government officials met with the business delegation led by Cook to discuss how the US can invest and support Namibian businesses.
The delegation included representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce, Fluor, General Electric (GE), the United States Department of Commerce, the Africa Bureau and Power Africa, among others.
“We have all these US companies here because we want to see US investment in Namibia, but we’re also working with Namibian companies because we want to help them grow and export their things to the United States,” US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Jessica Long stated.
According to Cook, Namibia and the USA have many common values and goals, such as the promotion of gender equality, peace and security.
She said she believes that the two countries can work together in a way that adds value to Namibia by providing skills transfer and job opportunities through engaging the US private sector.
“We take a lot of pride in the US private sector because we believe that when the US private sector is involved, they reflect our values around job creation, around operating in transparent and equitable ways and also in terms of skills transfer,” Cook said.
One of the representatives of GE, a company that focuses on energy, power, aviation and healthcare, explained that one of the ways the company intends to support the country is by building sustainability in healthcare by providing basic healthcare, advanced technology, education and training.
Cook also highlighted that a lot can be achieved through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is a United States Trade Act that aims to support economic relations between the USA and Sub-Saharan African countries.
There are currently ongoing talks on how the Act can be improved upon.
She stated that AGOA has brought many benefits to Namibia, which includes good export relations.
“We are now seeing exports in beef, charcoal, beer. We hope to get Marula oil and many other exports as we are working together. We had a good conversation about some anti-aging products that will be coming out of Namibia and we’re all very excited about the prospects of that,” Cook said.
Vice President Mbumba expressed his gratitude for the past and present efforts of the USA in supporting Namibia and said he is excited about the prospect of working with the USA in a way that will benefit both countries.
