WINDHOEK, Jan. 26 — Namibia and the European Union (EU) advanced their partnership in green hydrogen and sustainable critical raw materials embedded in Global Gateway through roundtable discussions held in Windhoek on Wednesday.
The Global Gateway is a European project created by the EU to develop new infrastructures in developing countries.
The EU-Namibia partnership on sustainable raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen was agreed upon through an inked Memorandum of Understanding at COP27 in Egypt on Nov. 8, 2022, by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Namibian President Hage Geingob.
“This new partnership will fast track the EU and Namibia’s joint green and energy transition,” European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said in a statement.
According to Urpilainen, the development of the green hydrogen and critical raw materials value chains will be truly transformative and support the green and digital transformation of both Namibia and the EU.
European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, who also participated in the discussions, said Namibia is an important partner for the EU. “We want to work together on solutions to global challenges. Our new strategic partnership on raw materials and green hydrogen is a crucial part of our cooperation. We want to support Namibia in further developing a homegrown extractive, refining, and recycling industry for raw materials and expand green hydrogen production capacities,” he added.
Namibia is banking on the production of green hydrogen in a move aimed at positioning itself as a renewable energy hub in Africa. (Xinhua)
Namibia-EU partnership set to fast track green energy transition
