The Kunene Region is said to be well positioned as a pivotal economic engine to foster prosperity and improve livelihoods for its residents and Namibia at large.
However, more still needs to be done in terms of infrastructure, mining, tourism, and communication sectors to unlock the region's potential.
These were the sentiments shared by various speakers at the 22nd Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab Lecture Series held in Opuwo on Monday.
The Executive Director of Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) said the region's unique environment set-up provides opportunities in the tourism sector.
However, John Kasaona pointed out that there is a need for good eco-tourism and sustainable tourism strategies specifically for the region to ensure that the sector yields the desired results.
"The sensitivity around the region's environment and what we can do at the moment is promote eco-tourism in the region. Because eco-tourism will really make sure we won't really damage the environment. The other one is community-based tourism, where we get the Himbas and indigenous people to develop cultural sensitivity tourism."
On his part, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr. Peya Mushelenga, pledged the ministry's resources to support efforts to develop targeted programmes aimed at building skills among the youth in mining, tourism, and entrepreneurship.
"It must be reiterated that the Kunene Region has achieved much through dedicated leadership and local initiatives such as the Youth Development Strategy and the Informal Settlement Upgrade initiative. These programmes already provide essential social and economic support; however, there is still room to expand them to ensure inclusive growth."
Another potential growth point for the region is the mining sector, as Kunene is home to both large-scale and small-scale mining.
"If we are to really unlock the true potential of mining in Namibia, there is a need to build a value chain with that value chain number to allow the product to move from one chain to another and also to allow the involvement of stakeholders along that value chain to be able to position themselves," said Stanley Kambonde, Executive Director of the Kambonde Mineral Resources.
The discussion series was held with the aim of identifying opportunities to unlock the economic potential of the region through the tourism and mining sectors to drive economic growth and infrastructure development.