29 Feb 2016

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi says Botswana will assume the African Peace and Security Council membership for two years effective April this year.

That, Dr Venson-Moitoi said, placed Botswana on a high pedestal and offered an opportunity for effective contribution to peace building efforts.

Dr Venson-Moitoi, who was presenting her ministry’s budget proposals for the 2016/17 financial year, however, regretted that some African countries were relapsing into conflicts largely due to lack of respect for the constitutional supremacy and principles governing democratic elections.

The minister added that Botswana, as a member of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), continued to participate in ongoing discussions among ACP countries on the one hand and the European Union (EU) on the other, on the type of a partnership to be forged post 2020 when the Cotonou Agreement ends.

Furthermore, she said Botswana continued to play an active role in contributing to international efforts aimed at advancing the global agenda, particularly in areas such as promotion of human rights, good governance, respect for the rule of law, sustainable development as well as maintenance of international peace and security.

“In view of this, Botswana has used her membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council, particularly when she was vice chair of the council in 2015, to advance these important values of equality, fundamental freedoms and respect for human rights,” she said. The minister also expressed concern about emergence of new forms of international terrorism which she said were mostly perpetrated by religious fanatics and extremists.

“No country is immune from this form of terrorism, our country included. 

We therefore ought to double our efforts and commit ourselves anew, to do what we can to work with the international community to rid the world of this scourge which threatens the very foundation of the civilised world we live in today,” she said.

Nevertheless, she said despite being confronted by immense challenges, the ministry would continue to step up efforts to promote Botswana internationally and thus advance interests in all sectors of development, adding “with your continued support, I am confident that we will succeed.”

On other issues, the minister said the ministry continued to use bilateral frameworks such as the Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation (JPCCs), political consultations as well as bi-national commissions as platforms for strengthening and broadening the scope of bilateral cooperation with strategic partners.

Minister Venson-Moitoi further indicated that at continental level, Botswana continued to participate in the African Union (AU) summits held every six months.

African Union meetings, she said, were fundamental as they aimed at advancing Africa’s development agenda as encapsulated in Agenda 2063. 

“As a country which believes in regional integration and multilateralism, Botswana will continue to participate actively in the AU meetings with a view to influence decisions that will transform Africa for the better,” she said. Ends