RI business invited to invest in Namibia
RI business invited to invest in Namibia
JAKARTA (JP): Visiting Namibian President Sam Nujoma invited
yesterday Indonesian investors to his country and Southern
Africa.
Nujoma told a business luncheon hosted by the Indonesian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) that Indonesian
investors were very welcome in Namibia and other African
countries to help develop their natural resources.
"Namibia has a liberal constitution which guarantees private
ownership, human rights and freedom of expression. Government
business and matters of governance are conducted in a multi-party
democratic environment. Furthermore, the government has pursued
pragmatic, free market policies since independence (on March 20,
1990)," Nujoma said.
Nujoma arrived here Thursday for a five-day state visit to
strengthen bilateral relations.
He said Namibia offered vast investment opportunities in a
variety of sectors, including agriculture, tourism, fishery,
mining and manufacturing.
"Agriculture is based primarily on livestock with emphasis on
beef, lamb and ostriches. Mining is the largest single sector in
terms of employment and is a significant contributor to foreign
exchange revenue," he said.
Opportunities for investment existed in the mining and
processing of diamonds, copper, uranium, tin, zinc, marble,
precious and semi-precious stones, he said.
He said his government had declared a 200-mile exclusive
economic zone for fishing operations.
"Namibia is destined to become a major gas producer in the
next three years or so. A gas turbine plant to generate
electricity is planned and technology for this is being sought,"
Nujoma said.
"Compared to many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia
possesses a relatively higher competitive edge in terms of
excellent infrastructure and other facilities that we offer to
investors," he said.
Nujoma said that the port of Walvis Bay, the only deep sea
harbor on the African West Coast between Cape Town and Luanda,
was a gateway to the entire Southern African Development
Community (SADC) region.
He said that SADC was home to 145 million people and offered
the most convenient entry and exit point for trade to and from
the region.
The 824,295 square-kilometer Namibia, in the southwestern
corner of the African continent, has a population of 1.6 million
people. In 1995, the country's per capita income and GDP reached
US$1,902 and $3.2 billion, respectively.
Kadin's acting president, Dewi Motik Pramono, said the visit
would probably not produce immediate deals but follow-up
exchanges and business visits between the two countries would
eventually lead into business joint ventures.
Nujoma who met with President Soeharto yesterday is scheduled
to return home Monday after visiting North Sumatra and Bali. (icn)