The Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy to visit Finland

Press release 272/2009
20 October 2009

Erkki Nghimtina, the Minister of Mines and Energy of Namibia, will visit Finland on 21-23 October at the invitation of Minister of Economic Affairs Mauri Pekkarinen.

Finland and Namibia will enhance their cooperation in the mining and energy sector. A project between the Geological Survey of Finland and the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy is currently under preparation. During the visit, Minister Nghimtina will get acquainted with Finnish technology within the fields of energy efficiency, renewable sources of energy and mining technology and meet executives of Finnish companies representing these sectors.

In addition to Minister Pekkarinen, during his visit Minister Nghimtina will meet Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen. Furthermore, he will visit VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Geological Survey of Finland, where he will also be introduced to the activities of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority Finland. The programme also includes a visit in the Rauma region, where Minister Nghimtina will get acquainted with the activities of the Chamber of Commerce of Rauma and its member companies and visit Teollisuuden Voima Oyj’s Olkiluoto nuclear power plant.

In 2008, Namibia was the fourth biggest uranium producer in the world with a 10-per cent market share. It has been predicted that Namibia will double its uranium production within the next few years. The development of the mining sector in Namibia requires major energy investments.

Additional information: Director Jorma Suvanto, tel. +358 9 1605 6235, +358 40 354 5675, Project Assistant Susanna Rinta, tel. +358 9 1605 6427, +358 40 752 4731, Unit for Southern Africa