Africa: South Africa, Namibia Orange River Border Dispute Unresolved
Namibia and South Africa have failed to resolve a long-standing border dispute concerning the boundary along the Orange River. The two nations have agreed to elevate the matter to a direct discussion between their respective presidents in 2027.
Why it matters
The resolution of this border is essential for clarifying territorial jurisdiction and managing natural resources in the Orange River Basin.
The decades-old dispute over the Orange River boundary between Namibia and South Africa remains unresolved after the two countries failed to conclude the matter during the fourth Namibia-South Africa Binational Commission in Pretoria, South Africa, on Friday.
The dispute centres on where the international boundary lies.
Namibia argues the border should run through the middle of the Orange River under modern international law, while South Africa maintains that the boundary follows the river's northern bank, based on the 1890 Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty between Germany and Britain.
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President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on Friday said Namibia and South Africa had engaged constructively on the matter and expressed hope that an urgent solution would be found to provide legal certainty for both countries and future generations.
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