India's Modi eager to boost trade with Namibia, Global South

LUSAKA, Zambia

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday his country is eager to boost trade with Namibia, as it targets enhanced cooperation with countries in the Global South.

Modi said Namibia is an ally for India, citing hydrocarbons, petrol chemicals, crude oil and gas, digital health and critical minerals, among other sectors.

"Namibia is a valued and trusted African partner with whom we seek to boost bilateral cooperation," Modi said in a meeting with President Netumbo-Nandi Ndaitwah at State House in Windhoek.

"The Indian community in Namibia is extremely optimistic about closer India-Namibia friendship and this is reflected in the special welcome in Windhoek," Modi wrote on X, after her arrived for his last stop on a five-country tour.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said the visit reflected 35 years of ties between the two nations and was an opportunity to expand multilateral cooperation in a world grappling with a surge in conflict, terrorism, trade barriers and climate change as impediments to growth.

"Our two countries are united by our shared commitment to democratic principles such as freedom, peace, stability and the rule of law and it is in this vain that Namibia seeks to double multilateral efforts with India in pushing for a more demographically representative United Nations Security Council, reflecting the presence of countries such as those in the Global South," said Nandi-Ndaitwah.

She indicated that Namibia had also translocated several cheetahs to India to promote ecological sustainability, while expressing delight at India's plans to build a pharmaceutical plant for medicine production in Namibia.