During the past decade Namibia has been positioning itself to become an international trade gateway for nearby countries. Namibia has capitalized on its assets of good transportation infrastructure, security and stability, efficient customs administration, and supportive business environment to develop a growing transit trade business. The results to date have been quite positive: Traffic along the international transit corridors connecting Namibia's seaports to countries in the region grew at an average annual rate of 33 percent between 2005 and 2011—despite a downturn in 2009-2010 caused by the global economic crisis.