United States of America Deputy Secretary of State for African Affairs, Akunna Cook, has urged the Namibian government to finalise the implementation of the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework (NEEEF) to attract US investments and build an equitable local economy.
Leading a delegation of potential US investors at a meeting with the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation here on Monday, Cook said the NEEEF policy provides the private sector empowerment and credibility that foreign investors require.
NEEEF consists of policies designed to encourage the private business sector to become more equitable and to make a greater contribution towards national economic empowerment and transformation.
She further indicated that there is a need for the government to implement the Whistleblowers Protection Act, noting Namibia’s single democracy and rule of law has encouraged the US trade and investment partnership.
“The US is eager to support the Namibian government’s efforts on anti-corruption and shared values to ensure the commitment of democracy,” she said.
Cook noted that Namibia provides a lot of investment opportunities in areas such as infrastructure; digital technology; climate and renewable energy; health and gender, of which the young populace can benefit from through employment creation.
At the same event, Namibia’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, said Namibia is looking at increasing its export to the US aside from the current beef and charcoal exportation, especially now with the extended African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which enhances market access to the US.
Nandi-Ndaitwah stressed that there is a need for infrastructure development in Namibia in order to fast-track trade and investment in various areas between the two countries.
“Namibia is a youthful population and our hope is on our young people. We have to finalise the implementation of NEEEF as it took us some time in order to find a balanced shared prosperity among Namibians through foreign investment,” she noted.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency