Namibia will promote its interests in energy transition and innovation-led growth at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, from 11–12 May 2026.

Vice President Lucia Witbooi will represent Namibia, engaging in discussions on innovation, food security, and renewable energy.

Witbooi is expected to hold high-level meetings to advance Namibia’s Vision 2030 and NDP6 priorities, focusing on green industrialisation, infrastructure development, and innovation-led growth.

The summit, themed "Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth," will bring together African leaders, the President of France, African Union representatives, development institutions, and private sector stakeholders.

Deputy Minister Gaudentia Kröhne said, “Namibia’s ambition is not to build one isolated sector but an industrialized system. We aim to move from importing industrial capacity to building it locally. The Sixth National Development Plan provides that Namibia seeks sustainable economic growth through diversification, industrialisation, manufacturing expansion, infrastructure development, and employment creation. The plan targets increasing the secondary industry to 25% of GDP and manufacturing to 18%.”

The summit aims to redefine Africa-France relations beyond donor-recipient frameworks toward balanced, mutually beneficial partnerships, addressing food security, renewable energy, infrastructure financing, climate resilience, trade, digital transformation, industrialisation, and youth empowerment.