21 Apr 2016

Botswana is pleased to host the signing ceremony of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union (EU) in June, says Vice President, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi. 

Speaking at the ACP-EU regional joint parliamentary session in Gaborone on Wednesday, the Vice President said the signing of the EPA comes after 10 years of negotiations. “Since then, the translation of the agreement into various EU languages has been ongoing and when this is concluded, Botswana will have the pleasure and privilege of hosting the signing ceremony in June 2016,” he said. 

Mr Masisi said the conclusion of the EPAs has transformed the trade pillar of the Cotonou Agreement into a multi-pronged relationship with a number of regional trade blocs. “It is my ardent hope that achievement of this milestone will create an enabling environment for economic growth, integration of ACP states through trade and investment into the world economy, sustainable development and poverty reduction,” he said, adding that it was time the negotiations were translated into results. 

The Vice President said ACP countries have for the past four decades benefited under the Cotonou Agreement as well as the preceding Lome Conventions. “I am confident that I will be speaking for many, if not for all of us, if I mention that the benefits of the cooperation outweigh the costs,” he said. 

He said for the southern region, the EU has been and remains a reliable development and trade partner. The ACP-EU partnership is to come to an end in 2020 and Mr Masisi said it was necessary that an alternative be found. He said international cooperation was important, saying collaboration saw them adopting the 2013 Sustainable Development Goals resolution and the UN Framework on Climate Change. 

Mr Masisi said the southern region was forging closer relations, adding that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has taken the decision to focus more on regional economic cooperation, integration and development. “We endeavour to use these as vehicles to increase trade and create larger and efficient regional markets which hopefully will attract foreign direct investment,” he said. 

He said with competitive and diversified industrial development, the region would eventually reach its goal of poverty eradication and sustainable development. The Vice President said the region has come up with a number of initiatives including the SADC industrialisation strategy and roadmap 2015-2063, which aims to transform and enhance the competitiveness of the region. 

“The strategy recognises that for trade liberalisation to contribute to sustainable and equitable development and poverty eradication, it must be complemented by the requisite capacity to produce and to trade effectively and efficiently,” he said. He said the strategy takes into consideration national, regional, continental and international dimensions, and that they have managed to harness the dynamics, although there was still a lot of room for growth. 

Mr Masisi said regional integration was more imperative for countries such as Botswana which were landlocked and vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change and global recessions. The two-day meeting of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly ended on Thursday with Botswana represented by the MP for Kgatleng West, Mr Gilbert Mangole and the MP for Takatokwane, Mr Ngaka Ngaka.ENDS