India-Namibia Trade Rises to $592.94 Million as Ties Deepen
India-Namibia bilateral trade rises to USD 592.94 million in 2025-26 as both countries expand cooperation in investment, services, healthcare, critical minerals, digital payments, energy and infrastructure.
India and Namibia increase their cooperation in terms of trade and economy as bilateral trade grows to USD 592.94 million in the fiscal year 2025-26 as opposed to USD 568.40 million in the last financial year. India and Namibia commit to increasing their cooperation in areas of investment, services, health, critical minerals, digital payments, energy and infrastructure at the Fourth Session of the India-Namibia JTC in New Delhi.
The JTC will take place on August 10 and 11, with both delegations ending the meeting by signing the Agreed Minutes. The Indian delegation will be headed by Amit Kumar, Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce, and the Namibian delegation will be headed by Ndiitah Nghipondoka-Robiati, Executive Director in Namibia's Ministry of International Relations and Trade.
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This entails efforts geared towards diversifying the nature of bilateral trade away from being based on raw material to increased value addition and processing of goods locally within Namibia. It is agreed by both parties that there will be implementation measures that are clear-cut with timelines and responsibilities attached to them.
The exports of India to Namibia are at USD 349.09 million in 2025-26, whereas the imports from Namibia are at USD 243.85 million. The trade in services shows an increment of 7.34% to USD 380 million in 2024. There is an outstanding increase of 124.06% in engineering goods, amounting to USD 30.24 million. These are due mainly to motor vehicles and parts thereof.
Promotion of investments is seen as another significant field of collaboration. The Invest India and Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board have been identified as the investment focal points in JTC. Both parties intend to select officials who will handle issues related to investment and help increase business interactions.
The third point of commonality between India and Namibia is the commitment made to create a Services Working Group that will hold a meeting not later than February 2027 and present the plan of work to the JTC. Health-care and pharmaceuticals cooperation also gets more attention because the first joint working group, according to the health and medicine cooperation agreement, will be held not later than December 2026.
"Critical minerals become an important strategic sector with opportunities in the exploration, offtake, processing, and downstream beneficiation of lithium, graphite, copper, cobalt, and rare earth elements." This cooperation is aimed at assisting Namibia in creating local value addition and job creation as well as assisting with supply chain development for strategically important minerals.
Financial connectivity in the digital era has also been part of the talks that followed the launch of an instant payment system in Namibia inspired by India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The instant payment system that has been launched in Namibia is known as WayaMe, and it was launched in June 2026. Another topic that the two countries have talked about is the FinTech Cooperation Framework.
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Further collaboration areas include railroads, rolling stock, solar/wind energy, battery storage systems, transmission systems, green hydrogen, biofuel, and desalination. Collaboration extends to agriculture and food security, MSMEs, textiles, tourism, and sports.
Further negotiations are completed on the Terms of Reference for an India-Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Preferential Trade Agreement, which will take place one month after the signing and will be concluded within a year. The broader framework of cooperation shows increased economic interest of India towards Namibia and Africa in general.
