The peace, respect for the rule of law and good administration that Botswana is renowned for continues to put the country in good stead to trade in Africa.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lemogang Kwape said last Thursday in an interview on the sidelines of the just ended African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa that a good road network, including state-of-the-art bridges and the fact that Botswana is located in the middle of Sub-Saharan Africa makes the country an ideal investment destination.
“Botswana’s geographic position and all its good virtues of peace, stability and good road infrastructure simply make it easy for investors to reach the over 350 million population within the regional bloc (SADC),” he said.
Furthermore, Minister Kwape said he was pleased with the investors trickling into Botswana to look for investment opportunities at President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi’s invitation. He said the president had not taken his foot off the pedal in his quest to lure investors to Botswana since assuming the highest office in the land.
Just recently, Swiss Confederation president, Alain Berset visited Botswana where he and President Dr Masisi deliberated on ways to strengthen relations and improve trade between the two nations and their people.
Regarding this year’s summit, Minister Kwape stated that it delved into issues of food security in Africa to fight famine by devising the means to mitigate the situation. He further said Botswana, faced with poor rains due to climate change, had undertaken to benchmark initiatives for better yields.
“One such initiative is to send completing students from BUAN to Israel to learn best practices to turn the sector around,” he said.
Insurgency and instances of Coupe de tat that continued to ravage the motherland also formed the core of this year’s AU agenda, he stated.
Citing the insurgency in the Cabo Delgado region in Mozambique where SADC forces have been deployed to fight Islamist militants as well as instability in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Minister Kwape stressed security was paramount if the landmark African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement is to bear fruit. He said if implemented fully, it would become the largest market in the world.
“If there is no security within the continent there would not be any trade. Investors want stability, that is why Presidents in Africa are committed and working around the clock to ensure there is peace and stability and resultant integration,” he said.
The 2023 edition of the AU summit was held under the theme: The Year of AFCFTA: Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation, which aimed to enhance close collaborations with relevant organs and specialised agencies of the African Union, regional mechanisms and Regional Economic Communities.
Source: BOPA
