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Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
News article8 November 2022Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Partnership on sustainable raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen between the EU and Namibia

On 8 November, in the margins of COP-27, in Egypt, President Ursula von der Leyen and President of Namibia Hage Geingob signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a strategic partnership between the EU and Namibia.

The Memorandum of Understanding and the partnership are grounded on common interests and will promote integration of the raw materials and renewable hydrogen value chains between the EU and Namibia.

For Europe this partnership is essential to deliver on its ambition of the green deal, empowering the green and digital transitions. For Namibia, this partnership of equals offers benefits to ensure that its resources really serve to underpin a sustainable, clean and inclusive economic growth and development, enable transformation and economic diversification, as well as local beneficiation and value addition.

Six main pillars of the partnership

Integration, where feasible, of (critical) raw materials and renewable hydrogen value chains, including networking, new business models and promotion and facilitation of trade and investment linkages.

Cooperation to leverage environmental, social, and governance (ESG) Criteria and align with international standards.

Mobilisation of funding for the development of soft and hard infrastructure required for projects development and for leveraging private sector funding through cooperation to address trade matters, including inclusiveness, and improving the investment climate.

Capacity building, training and skills development along raw materials and renewable hydrogen value chains.

Cooperation on research and innovation along the raw materials value chain, including on mineral knowledge and circularity, hydrogen technologies and skills.

Regulatory alignment, particularly on hydrogen definitions, standards and certification.

Future context

The Global Gateway will play a central role in support of the various actions, in particular, the concrete investment projects along the raw materials and hydrogen value chains.

The EU and Namibia have committed to develop a roadmap for 2023-2024, with concrete joint actions agreed within six months of the signature of the partnership. These should be carried out in close cooperation with relevant industrial and financial stakeholders from the EU countries and Namibia.

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