Staff Reporter<\/p>\n\n\n\n
REGIONAL leaders and policymakers have called for stronger transport, energy and digital connectivity, increased cross-border investment and expanded trade between Eastern and Southern Africa to accelerate economic integration and create opportunities for growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The call was made during the opening of the 31st Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE 2026) from 10 to 13 November 2026, in Windhoek, where representatives from governments, the United Nations and regional partners gathered for four days of discussions on connectivity, trade and investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finance Minister Erica Shafudah said regional connectivity was fundamental to economic transformation, adding that Namibia was strengthening its position as a regional logistics and trade gateway through its strategic location along the Atlantic coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the country’s port infrastructure provided an important alternative route for imports and exports, particularly for landlocked countries in Southern Africa and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNamibia remains open to trade and investment. We welcome partnerships that promote industrial development, value addition, renewable energy, logistics, tourism, agriculture and other productive sectors of our economy,\u201d Shafudah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UN Resident Coordinator in Namibia, Hopolang Phororo, said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides an opportunity for African countries to expand their markets, but stressed that an agreement alone cannot create an integrated market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said its success would depend on what countries produce, the efficiency of transport systems, the ability of businesses to operate across borders and the readiness of governments to align their systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Phororo noted that Namibia’s domestic market of just over three million people meant that its economic ambitions could not rely on local demand alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Access to regional and continental markets was therefore essential to supporting larger-scale production and investment, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that Namibia’s strategic location, particularly the Port of Walvis Bay and its connecting transport corridors, offered opportunities to link regional markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the country’s ambitions in logistics, renewable energy, minerals, value addition and tourism would also depend on investment, skills and markets beyond its borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking on behalf of the ICSOE member states, director of MSMEs at the Ministry of Commerce, Mluleki Sakhile Dlamini, reaffirmed the region’s commitment to working with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the wider UN system to address poverty and inequality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said strengthening connectivity, trade and investment between Eastern and Southern Africa was particularly important as countries moved from regional frameworks towards implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dlamini said improved cooperation presented an opportunity to transform African economies from exporters of raw materials into exporters of value-added goods and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uganda’s State Minister of Finance, Cissy Mulondo, said bridging the gap between Eastern and Southern Africa through connectivity, trade, investment and tourism was important for economic diversification and growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She called for greater prioritisation of these areas to promote intra-regional trade and job creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UNECA Southern Africa Office director Eunice G. Kamwendo said the meeting aimed to identify practical ways of strengthening cooperation between the two subregions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She highlighted three key priorities: improving connectivity, particularly in energy trade and digital infrastructure; mobilising cross-border investment to support trade and productive transformation; and identifying concrete actions and partnerships to advance regional integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kamwendo said the discussions should focus on what the two subregions could achieve together that would be difficult for them to accomplish individually, with the aim of translating regional commitments into tangible results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photo: Economic Commission for Africa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Staff Reporter REGIONAL leaders and policymakers have called for stronger transport, energy and digital connectivity, increased cross-border investment and expanded trade between Eastern and Southern Africa to accelerate economic integration and create opportunities for growth. The call was made during the opening of the 31st Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE 2026) from …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":403950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-403949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n