Staff Reporter
TOTAL trade between Namibia and South Africa reached about N$86 billion in 2025, with Namibia exporting N$29.21 billion to South Africa against imports of N$57.84 billion.
The figures were highlighted by the Minister of International Relations and Trade, Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, during the Ministerial Session of the fourth session of the Namibia-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC), held in Pretoria, South Africa.
The minister highlighted that there is a persistent trade deficit between Namibia and South Africa, driven by the structural gap between the two countries’ industrial bases. She revealed that Namibia’s leading exports to South Africa last year included precious and semi-precious stones and metals, ores and slag, fish and other aquatic products, and live animals, while Namibia’s imports from South Africa were dominated by vehicles, machinery, electrical equipment and pharmaceuticals.
“Statistics of this kind, Co-Chair, are a call to action. The establishment of a South Africa-Namibia Business Council, as directed by the Third Session of our Bi-National Commission, is thus an imperative. Namibia regards this Council as the missing operational link between our two economies, one capable of organising the movement of private capital, joint ventures and industrial partnerships beyond the raw asymmetry of import and export statistics,” Ashipala-Musavyi continued.
She therefore urged the Chambers of Commerce to finalise their terms of reference and secure the formal launch of the Council before the fifth session of the Namibia-South Africa Bi-National Commission. She also stressed that the holding of a Business Forum as part of this BNC session was highly commendable.
Ashipala-Musavyi further recognised the progress achieved at the ninth SACU Summit and the seventh Ministerial Retreat held in Cape Town in June 2026. She welcomed the proposal for Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho to participate, in an ex-officio capacity, in South Africa’s tariff-setting process through the International Trade Administration Commission, noting that the initiative could contribute to greater transparency and participation in regional trade decision-making.
“Of particular interest to Namibia is the proposal for Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia to participate, in an ex-officio capacity, within South Africa’s own tariff-setting process at the International Trade Administration Commission — a modest but meaningful step towards the transparency our smaller economies have long sought. We also welcome the continued work on cross-border value chains, including the Andrada Lithium Project in Namibia, which is already benefiting from technical and financial collaboration with South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation, and which stands as a working example of what regional industrialisation under a re-imagined SACU can look like in practice,” Ashipala-Musavyi continued.
NEIGHBOUR RELATIONS: Scenes from the Ministerial Session of the fourth session of the Namibia-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC). Photos: Ministry of International Relations and Trade.
