Germany–Namibia relations are the

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

hip of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. This relationship is of particular importance as Namibia was colonized and occupied by the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

in the 19th century. There is also a community of approximately 30,000

German Namibians German Namibians (; ) are a community of people descended from ethnic German colonists who settled in present-day Namibia. In 1883, the German trader Adolf Lüderitz bought what would become the southern coast of Namibia from Josef Frederiks ...

residing in Namibia today. Both nations are members of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Culturally, both countries are part of the Germanosphere.

History

Pre-colonial relations

First contacts between people of the two countries took place when German missionaries were hired by the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

to commence working in Southern Namibia during the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century.

German South West Africa and Herero and Nama genocide

During the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...

, while present-day Namibia was occupied by

and known as ''

German South West Africa German South West Africa () was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German rule over this territory was punctuated by ...

'', the United Kingdom occupied

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay (; ; ) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the List of cities in Namibia, second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers an area of of land. The bay is a ...

and incorporated the port area to its possession in the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

. In 1890, the British government apportioned the

Caprivi Strip The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is bordered by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a sing ...

to the Germans. This would give Germany access to the

Zambezi River The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

and its other East African territories, and it would give up its claims on

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

(which was transferred to the United Kingdom). Between 1904 and 1908, Germany commenced a genocide against the Herero and Nama people of Namibia. The genocide began in 1904 after a Herero and Nama rebellion over German seizures of their land and cattle. In retaliation, the German military administration led by

Lothar von Trotha Adrian Dietrich Lothar von Trotha (3 July 1848 – 31 March 1920) was a German military commander during the European new colonial era. As a brigade commander of the East Asian Expedition Corps, he was involved in suppressing the Boxer Rebelli ...

called for the extermination of the population in response.Germany officially recognises colonial-era Namibia genocide
/ref> Tens of thousands Herero and Nama people were killed during the genocide. In 1915, during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, troops from South Africa invaded and occupied the territory. After the war, with the signing of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

, Germany was forced to transfer its territory to the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

in 1920, which at the time was a self-governing dominion of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

.Namibia profile - Timeline
/ref> The territory would be called ''

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

'' for the next 70 years.

Namibian independence and post-independence relations

In 1966,

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

launched an armed struggle against South African occupation which became known as the

South African Border War The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...

. In 1989 hostilities ceased in Namibia and in March 1990, Namibia became an independent nation. Namibian independence coincided with

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

in October of that same year with both nations establishing diplomatic relations. In March 1998, German President

Roman Herzog Roman Herzog (; 5 April 1934 – 10 January 2017) was a German politician, judge and legal scholar, who served as the president of Germany from 1994 to 1999. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the first president to be elec ...

paid an official visit to Namibia.Namibia: A timeline of Germany's brutal colonial history
/ref> In August 2004, German minister for development, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, recognized Germany's historical and moral responsibility for the genocide of the Herero and Nama people after 100 years. As a result, Germany decided to provide development aid to Namibia. In September 2011, the German government returned skulls from colonial-era killings to Namibia. More skulls and bones are returned during separate ceremonies in 2014 and 2018. In 2015, negotiations start between the German and Namibian governments regarding an official apology and aid money. In 2016, the German government recognized the mass murder of Herero and Nama by German troops as genocide in an official document. In May 2021, both countries announced that an agreement has been reached in which Germany recognizes the atrocities committed against the Herero and Nama people in the early 1900s as genocide. The German government pledged to spend €1.1 billion over 30 years for infrastructure and development aid in Namibia. The payments do not include reparations. In 2020, the bilateral aid from Germany to Namibia amounted to €45.16 million. Relations soured between Germany and Namibia in 2024, after president

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024) was a Namibian politician who served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death in February 2024. Geingob was the country's first prime minister A prime minister ...

criticized Germany's support for

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in the South Africa v. Israel case at the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

. Geingob said that Germany had an "inability to draw lessons from its horrific history."

Bilateral agreements

Both nations have signed a few bilateral agreements such as an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital (1996) and an agreement on the promotion of investments (1997).Germany and Namibia: Bilateral relations
/ref>

Tourism and transportation

Approximately 120,000 German visitors visit Namibia each year. There are direct flights between

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

with Eurowings Discover.

Trade

In 2018, trade between both nations totaled €200 million Euros. Germany's main exports to Namibia include: machines, food products, electro-technical products, electronics, chemical products, automotive products, measurement and control technology. Namibia's main export products to Germany include: non-ferrous metals, food products, raw materials (except fuels), automotive products, machinery, leather products and natural oils. In August 2021, the two countries signed a joint declaration of intent (JCoI) in order to establish a

green hydrogen Green hydrogen (GH2 or GH2) is hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of water, using renewable electricity. Production of green hydrogen causes significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than production of grey hydrogen, which is derived fr ...

partnership. In May 2023, a Namibian company, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, which is a subsidiary of Germany-headquartered Enertrag, agreed a $10 billion green hydrogen project with the Namibian government to export its production to Europe once built in the Tsau ǁKhaeb Sperrgebiet National Park.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Germany has an embassy in

. * Namibia has an embassy in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

.Embassy of Namibia in Berlin
/ref> File:Windhoek-269058 1920.jpg, Sanlam Centre (left) hosting the Embassy of Germany in Windhoek File:Platanenallee 36, Reichsstraße 17 (09096391) 001.jpg, Embassy of Namibia in Berlin

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Germany-Namibia Relations

Bilateral relations of Namibia Relations of colonizer and former colony