India-Namibia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Namibia on July 9, 2025, marking the final leg of his five-country outreach trip to the Global South. During this landmark visit, PM Modi was conferred with Namibia’s highest civilian award, the ‘Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis’, presented by Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

Significance of the Visit:

• First for PM Modi: This was Prime Minister Modi’s first-ever visit to Namibia.
• Third Indian PM Visit: It also marked only the third prime ministerial visit from India to Namibia in history.

Deep-Rooted India-Namibia Partnership:

• Shared Past and Partnership: India and Namibia share a colonial past and have forged a strong post-colonial partnership.
• India’s Support for Namibian Independence:
  • As early as 1946, India raised the question of Namibia’s independence in the United Nations General Assembly.
  • The first embassy of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), which led Namibia’s liberation struggle, was established in New Delhi in 1986.
  • India provided full diplomatic status, steadfast support through the Non-aligned Movement (NAM), and also offered material assistance and military training to fighters in Namibia’s liberation struggle against apartheid South Africa.
  • Sam Nujoma, the leader of SWAPO and founding President of Namibia, visited India an impressive 11 times.

Key Pillars of Bilateral Relationship:

The bilateral relationship between India and Namibia is built upon several critical areas:

• Critical Minerals: Namibia is a significant producer of key minerals.
  • Third-largest producer of uranium globally.
  • One of the largest producers of lithium, zinc, and rare earth metals.
  • This presents great potential for a mutually beneficial energy security and critical mineral partnership.
• Energy.
• Economy.
• Capacity-Building.
• Development Assistance.
• Cheetah Diplomacy: Of late, India’s cheetah diplomacy has also assumed importance in bilateral ties.

(Source: IE)