Talks between Namibia and Iran have opened discussions around rail, roads, aviation and maritime infrastructure, as Namibia continues efforts to strengthen its position as a regional logistics hub
Namibia is exploring opportunities for greater cooperation with Iran in transport and infrastructure, following a bilateral meeting between Works and Transport Minister John Mutorwa and Iran’s Ambassador to Namibia, Mohammad B. Beigi.
The meeting, held on September 24, focused on potential areas of cooperation including road and railway development, aviation, ports and maritime affairs, technical cooperation, skills development and knowledge exchange.
The discussions come as Namibia works to strengthen its transport network and position itself as a logistics gateway for Southern and Central Africa.
The country’s geographical position on the Atlantic coast, combined with the Port of Walvis Bay and its links to neighbouring landlocked countries, is central to this strategy. Namibia’s logistics network includes the Trans-Kalahari, Trans-Caprivi, Trans-Cunene and Trans-Oranje corridors, linking Walvis Bay with markets in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rail continues to be the main focus, with the government is upgrading sections of its railway network to increase cargo capacity.
One of the rail infrastructures being upgraded is the Walvis Bay–Tsumeb line, while the African Development Bank’s Transport Infrastructure Improvement Project is addressing bottlenecks in railway infrastructure and strengthening links between Walvis Bay and Namibia’s hinterland and neighbouring countries.
Namport has also identified limited rail connectivity as one of the challenges that needs to be addressed if Namibia is to fully realise its ambition of becoming a preferred regional logistics gateway. The Port of Walvis Bay’s new container terminal has increased capacity and connectivity, while expansion at the port of Lüderitz is also part of the country’s broader infrastructure plans.