Namibian President urges increased trade with Zimbabwe

Visiting Namibian President Hage Geingob on Friday decried low trade levels between Zimbabwe and Namibia and called for redoubling of efforts by the two countries to boost bilateral trade.

While Namibia's total trade in 2016 stood at 13 billion U.S. dollars, its trade with Zimbabwe stood at a mere 24 million U.S. dollars, Geingob said.

He was speaking at the 58th edition of Zimbabwe's premier trade showcase, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Zimbabwe's second largest city of Bulawayo.

Geingob added that trade was not only low between the two countries but across Africa because the continent mainly produces and exports unprocessed goods.

The Namibian president thus called on African countries to create linkages that accelerate industrialization in the continent.

He also called for the removal of barriers to trade, barriers that hinder free movement of labor and creation of strong regional value chains to enable the continent to compete globally.

"To address burning challenges such as high unemployment in Africa, we have to expand our industrialization and value chain capabilities," he said.

The 2017 ZIFT ran from April 25-29 under the theme: "Harnessing Linkages for Industrial Development".

A total of 13 countries including China exhibited at the annual weeklong trade event. Endit