11 Feb 2018

Botswana and Zimbabwe are yet to conclude the Extradition Treaty and the Agreement on Legal Assistance that are key in fighting crime.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation, Mr Gaeimelwe Goitsemang said at the opening of the 12^th Session of the Botswana/Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation (JPCC) in Gaborone on February 8, that the two instruments were key in helping police services and judicial services to be effective.

Mr Goitsemang said their deliberations with their Zimbabwean counterparts on the two would afford them an opportunity to discuss many other issues that would go a long way in deepening the bilateral relations of the two countries.

“For those MoUs and Agreements that are still pending, we should move fast to expeditiously conclude them,” he said.

Mr Goitsemang further said the JPCC was a demonstration of renewed interest and commitment by the governments of Botswana and Zimbabwe to work together for the betterment of people of the two countries.

Zimbabwe’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador Joey Bimha said the JPCC came at a time when Zimbabwe’s policy thrust sought to revive the national economy through broadening investment and deepening stronger economic cooperation between the two nations, their partners and neighbours.

“This is the first JPCC that we are holding since the dawn of the new dispensation in our country. Clearly this is a testament to our countries’ shared desire to establish stronger bonds of friendship and deeper bilateral relations through closer cooperation for the mutual benefit of our peoples,” he said 

He said he hoped that the JPCC would sign the MoU on Bi-National Commission during this session as well as the Draft Extradition Treaty and the Aeronautical Services Agreement.

“We have many more draft MoUs that are still under negotiation between our two countries. I urge all colleagues involved in the negotiations on those agreements to speedily conclude their discussions and pave way for the signing of the agreements,” he said.

Mr Bimha further said it was encouraging that several matters had been finalised with regard to the repayment of Zimbabwe’s debt to the Botswana Vaccine Institute, ratification of the Limpopo River Basin Commission Agreement, ratification of the Zambezi River Basin Commission Agreement, Shortest Route Principle, and operationalisation of the Mulambaphele/Mmamabaka Border Post.

“I also note with satisfaction the commendable ongoing cooperation between our countries in such areas as agriculture, defence and security, justice to name but a few, since we last met for the mid-term review in 2012,” he said.

He said government of Botswana’s donation of 473 200 doses of Foot and Mouth vaccine had helped contain the outbreaks experienced in 2017, noting that the two countries had benefited from the cooperation they undertook through the JPCC framework. Discussions on the JPCC started on February 8 and will end on February 11.  BOPA