Minerals, Diamonds, Strategic Ties: Why Is PM Modi Visiting Namibia? | Explainers News

Last Updated:July 09, 2025, 00:24 IST

PM Narendra Modi is visiting Namibia at the invitation of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the first woman elected to the office in the southern African country

In the final leg of his five-nation tour visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit Namibia on a state visit on Wednesday (July 9).

Modi is visiting Namibia at the invitation of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the first woman elected to the office in the southern African country. His visit is aimed at deepening strategic ties with a focus on cooperation on minerals, uranium trade, digital infrastructure rollout, diamond exports, and clean energy investment.

This will be Modi’s first visit to Namibia, and the third ever prime ministerial visit from India to the country. During his visit, he will pay homage to the founding father and first President of Namibia, Sam Nujoma.

The Prime Minister is expected to deliver an address at the Namibian Parliament. This visit, however, is a reiteration of India’s multi-faceted and deep-rooted historical ties with the country.

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF INDIA-NAMIBIA TIES?

Apart from sharing a colonial past and post-colonial partnership, India and Namibia enjoy warm and cordial relations.

According to a report published in The Indian Express, SWAPO leader and founding president Sam Nujoma visited India 11 times. In his autobiography, Where Others Wavered: My Life in SWAPO and My Participation in the Liberation Struggle of Namibia, he wrote: “This was an extremely difficult time for our national liberation movement..we were helped by India which played a very vital role..”

The last Indian Prime Minister to visit Namibia was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who travelled to Windhoek at the end of August 1998 before heading to Durban for a meeting of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), The Indian Express reported.

The website of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) states that the Namibian people and leadership view India as a dependable and trusted friend. India supported the country during its liberation struggle, which has only strengthened relations. 

Way back in 1946, India was among the first to raise the question of Namibian independence at the United Nations. The first SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organisation) – which led Namibia’s liberation struggle – Embassy abroad was established in New Delhi in 1986. 

India gave material assistance and military training to the struggle, with Lieutenant General Dewan Prem Chand of the Indian Army heading the UN peacekeeping force (UNTAG) deployed in Namibia (1989-1990) to monitor the peace process and elections.

After Namibian independence, the Indian Observer Mission was upgraded to a full-fledged high commission on March 21, 1990. Namibia opened a full-fledged resident mission in New Delhi in March 1994.

The fourth round of India-Namibia foreign office consultations took place on November 3, 2022, in Windhoek where the two sides carried out a comprehensive review of the existing bilateral ties.

The first meeting of India-Namibia Joint Commission was held on June 5, 2023, in Windhoek. It was a comprehensive review of cooperation in several areas, including trade and economic cooperation, education and capacity building, forensic science, health, biodiversity, arts and culture, defence, agriculture, infrastructure development and energy among others.

WHY IS NAMIBIA IMPORTANT?

Namibia is the third-largest producer of uranium in the world, and one of the largest producers of lithium, zinc, and rare earth metals. Modi, during his visit, is aiming at fostering energy security and exploring critical mineral partnership.

When it comes to trade between the two countries, it has reached $654 million between April and November 2023 after registering a 178% growth. India’s exports were at $418 million, and imports from Namibia at $235 million. The main trading items are mineral oil, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and cereals.

The MEA website states that mining, energy, infrastructure development, health, education, agriculture and trade and investment offer potential for bilateral cooperation. Indian expertise in IT, pharmaceuticals, renewables and SMEs is of interest to Namibia.

This can be gauged from the recent visits by multi-sector business delegations from India to Namibia, which took place in May-June and October 2023.

WHAT ARE THE PAST INTERACTIONS BETWEEN INDIA AND NAMIBIA?

High-level visits have regularly taken place from both sides since 1990, as also in recent times. By far, the most significant collaboration has been the relocation of cheetahs from Namibia to India in September 2022.

Modi had released eight cheetahs translocated from Namibia to India at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh as part of the big cat’s reintroduction into India’s wilds. This transfer was the world’s first ever intercontinental trans-location of a major carnivore species and attracted global interest and attention.

The Prime Minister and former Namibian President Hage Geingob met on the sidelines of UNGA session in New York in September 2019. As President, Pranab Mukherjee had paid a state visit to Namibia in June 2016. Geingob, too, visited India in October 2015 to attend third India-Africa Forum Summit.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met then deputy PM and minister of international relations Nandi-Ndaitwah in Kigali in June 2022. He paid a three-day official visit to Namibia in June 2023, while Nandi-Ndaitwah had visited India to take part in the 17th CII-India Conclave on India Africa Growth Partnership held in July 2022. The two sides held bilateral talks and inked three pacts during that visit.

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