Modi’s Namibia visit sparks diamond trade push

In a landmark state visit to Namibia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored the potential for a robust diamond trade partnership, leveraging Namibia’s position as a global diamond producer and India’s expertise as the world’s leading diamond polisher.Speaking at State House in Windhoek, Modi outlined a vision for deepened economic ties, as both nations aim to expand cooperation in critical sectors such as green energy, mining, and technology.Modi made the remarks following a one-day state visit to Namibia after concluding his trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Addressing President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and government ministers during the conferment of The Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis, Modi highlighted that India had grown to become one of the largest diamond polishers."Namibia is one of the world's largest diamond producers, and India has the largest diamond polishing industry – that too in my home state of Gujarat. I am confident that in the future, our partnership will shine just as brightly as these diamonds," Modi said at State House.On her part, Nandi-Ndaitwah said the visit was crucial in ensuring that several agreements between Namibia and India would be concluded.This visit marks the culmination of numerous key agreements aimed at facilitating partnership and collaboration in sectors such as health, agriculture, cybersecurity, culture, digital transformation, geology, energy, and more. India remains one of Namibia’s largest trading partners, and as such, trade and investment cooperation remains central to the bilateral agenda.Expansion envisaged"I believe that both our countries have the capacity to expand trade and investment. We see immense potential for scaling up cooperation in strategic areas such as green hydrogen and clean energy, mining and value addition, oil and gas, and infrastructure development," Nandi-Ndaitwah said.According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, it was now the right time for Namibia and India to benefit from increased trade. "We must therefore do more to develop and capitalise on the opportunities available to us, to fully realise our trade and investment potential. The Namibia–India Joint Trade Committee constitutes valuable mechanisms to this end, and we are looking forward to the holding of the Fourth Session later this month."The Times of India reported that Modi's visit aimed to pave the way for increased direct engagement with Namibia.India has invested over US$800 million in Namibia across various sectors including mining, manufacturing, diamond processing, and services. Beyond diamonds, the visit was also seen as pivotal in India's quest for critical minerals essential to new-age technologies and electric vehicles, the Times of India reported.Namibia is estimated to hold approximately 75 million carats in roughly 1 million square kilometres of seabed, making it one of the richest known marine diamond deposits worldwide.

Modi’s Namibia visit sparks diamond trade push

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Republikein 2025-12-15

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Modi’s Namibia visit sparks diamond trade push

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