The Namibian government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on geology and mineral resources and an agreement on coopera- tion in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy with its Indian counterpart, which will see the African country supplying uranium to the South Asian country to power the latter’s civilian nuclear power plants.

The MoU, which was signed in New Delhi last week by Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the former’s State visit to the Asian giant, also covers diamonds and, reportedly, copper.

Significantly, this was the first State visit hosted by India since the re-election of the Singh administration, illustrating the priority New Delhi is giving Africa.

The signing of these agreements fol- lowed after Australia reaffirmed its policy of not selling uranium to countries that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, despite the India-US civilian nuclear agreement, which has opened India’s civilian nuclear plants to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Under the deal between the African and Asian countries, Namibia will supply uranium oxide to India.

India already sources uranium from Russia, France and Niger, and is now able to do so from the US as well. It is also negotiating agreements with Canada and Kazakhstan.

However, the Indians themselves will not yet be allowed to prospect for uranium in Namibia. “The moratorium on granting exclusive prospecting licences for uranium is something completely different,” Namibian Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina told The Namibian newspaper.

The Indian newspaper The Economic Times reported that the MoU “will give India the opportunity to tap into Namibia’s rich mining sector. “This includes the chance to get exclu- sive prospecting rights and the possibility of joint ventures in the sector.” This could indicate an expectation by the Indians that they would, in due course, be involved in the search for uranium in Namibia, or it might refer just to copper and diamonds, or it might be a misunderstanding.

What is certain is that, late last month, India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister, Ambika Soni, speaking straight after a Cabinet meeting, told reporters: “The MoU will provide the umbrella framework for mutual cooperation in the field of mining and will encourage and promote mutual cooperation between the two countries in this sector. “As you are aware, Namibia has rich deposits of diamonds and other minerals.”

Namibian diamonds are also of great interest to India. The Economic Times recently pointed out that Diamonds India Limited (DIL) – which is a consortium of 58 of India’s leading diamond and jewellery manufac- turers – “is in continuous need of rough diamonds for their processing factories, even during recession”. “Currently, DIL, to fulfil its continuous demand for diamonds, is willing to enter into contracts to purchase rough diamonds on a continuous basis and sometimes in large quantities.”

On the other hand, Namibia needs markets for its diamonds. Namdeb, which is a 50:50 joint venture between the Namibian State and global diamond major De Beers, saw its traditional markets collapse as a result of the global recession and had to cease production for three months, from mid-April to mid-July.

As a result of the crisis, Namibia recently bypassed its normal marketing outlet, the Diamond Trading Company (De Beers’ rough diamond distribution and sales operation), and sold what The Namibian called “a significant chunk” of the Namdeb stockpile to DIL.
However, “it’s not all about Namdeb”, Nghimtina told the newspaper. Other diamond-miners in the country will be able to deal directly with India.

Meanwhile, DIL has agreed to set up a diamond processing training institute in Namibia.