Africa-Press – Botswana. The peace, respect for the rule of law and good administration that Botswana is renowned for continues to put the country in better stead to trade in Africa.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Lemogang Kwape said in an interview Thursday on the sidelines of the ongoing African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa that a good road network, which included state-of-the-art bridges and the fact that Botswana was located in the middle of Sub-Saharan Africa made the country an ideal investment destination.
“Botswana’s geographic position and all its good virtues of peace, stability and good road infrastructure simply makes 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 investors who were trickling into Botswana to look for investment opportunities at the invitation of President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi who had not taken his foot off the pedal in his quest to lure investors 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 ways and means to mitigate the phenomenon.
He stated further that Botswana, which had realised poor rains due to climate change, had undertaken to benchmark initiatives to better through-put.
“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.
He cited insurgency in the Cabo Delgado region in Mozambique where the SADC forces had been deployed to fight Islamist militants as well as instability in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as among the many issues under discussion at the AU summit
The issue of security according to Minister Kwape was paramount if the landmark African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which if implemented fully would become the largest in the world, was to bear fruits.
“If there is no security within the continent there would not be any trade. Investors want stability and 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.
Meanwhile, Minister Kwape pleaded with Batswana especially the youth to prepare to express interest in the 18 slots preserved for qualified Batswana at the African Union headquarters.
“Other Batswana have taken eleven such posts and I, therefore, urge the youth to keep their ears on the ground so that they can compete for the slots once they are advertised,” he concluded.
President Masisi, First Lady Neo and delegation are expected to arrive Friday 17 to participate in the 36th ordinary session of the AU
The 2023 edition of the AU summit is held under the theme: The Year of AFCFTA: Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation, which is aimed at enhancing the close collaboration with relevant organs and specialised agencies of the African Union, regional mechanisms and Regional Economic Communities.
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