Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Namibia this week, marking the final stop on his five-nation tour and signaling New Delhi’s growing interest in Africa’s top uranium producer.
The visit, scheduled between key engagements in Brazil for the BRICS summit, follows Modi’s stop in Ghana and reflects India’s strategic push to strengthen partnerships in Africa while advancing its global agenda.
In Ghana, Modi secured a rare earth mineral mining deal as part of India’s broader efforts to gain access to critical resources such as uranium, lithium, and cobalt, materials essential for electric vehicle production, battery storage, and clean energy development.
These efforts come amid growing competition with China, which currently dominates the global supply of such minerals.
Bilateral trade between India and Namibia reached about $814 million in 2023–24, with Indian exports making up more than half of that figure.
Indian investments in Namibia are currently estimated at nearly $800 million, largely concentrated in the mining industry, particularly in zinc and diamonds.
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During his time in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, Modi will hold bilateral talks with President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and address a joint session of Namibia’s Parliament.
According to India’s DD News, one of the key moments of the visit will be the signing of a technology agreement to establish unified payment interoperability between both countries.
The deal, supported by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, is aimed at expanding cooperation in digital services and fintech.
With limited domestic reserves of key minerals, India is focused on securing reliable sources through international agreements and investments. Namibia has become a prime partner in this effort.
As Africa’s largest uranium producer and the third-largest globally, Namibia also holds sizable reserves of lithium and rare earth elements, resources that are vital to India’s plans for expanding its electric vehicle sector, strengthening energy storage infrastructure, and scaling up nuclear energy.
India is also exploring long-term uranium supply agreements as part of its plan to boost civilian nuclear energy capacity.
Discussions during the visit are expected to cover expanded cooperation in mining, technology transfer, and trade.
The Times of India reports that Modi’s visit may also open up direct engagement in Namibia’s diamond sector.
Currently, Namibia, home to the world’s richest marine diamond deposits estimated at over 80 million carats, does not sell rough diamonds directly to India.
Instead, these stones are shipped through global hubs like London and Antwerp before reaching Indian markets.
Changing that trade route could bring significant benefits to India’s diamond processing industry.
India’s outreach to Namibia is part of a broader recalibration in global geopolitics, with major powers competing for influence in Africa’s mineral-rich economies.
For Namibia, Modi’s visit offers a chance to deepen ties with Asia’s third-largest economy, attract new investment, and enhance its role in the global mineral supply chain.
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Image Credit: Topwar
