15 Mar 2018

Ambassador of Japan to Botswana says the government of Japan is preparing to organise the Japan-Africa Public-Private Economic Forum to be held in May this year in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Speaking at a reception to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the resident embassy of Japan in Botswana and the JOGMEC Botswana Geologic Remote Sensing Centre, Mr Kozo Takeda said the forum followed an announcement made by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2016.

He said the forum would be launched with a view to accelerating private sector -led economic growth by encouraging further business encounters among Japan and African companies.

Mr Takeda said he hoped this forum would present an opportunity to capitalise on the presence of a wide range of business actors to reflect on their approach to boosting investment in their respective countries.

He noted that 52 years ago, Japan and Botswana established diplomatic relations right after Botswana’s independence.

“In January 2008, the Japanese government established the resident embassy of Japan in Botswana. I firmly believe the establishment of our embassy has further strengthened bilateral relations between Japan and Botswana and also our two governments have steadily and resolutely been cooperating towards the development and betterment of Botswana in accordance with Botswana’s commitment towards sustainable economic development, human and social development, sustainable environment, good governance, peace and security,” he said.

Mr Takeda said furthermore, in July 2008, JOGMEC established the Botswana Geologic Remote Sensing Centre and since then the centre has transferred remote sensing exploration techniques to more than 1 000 geologists in the SADC region.
“SADC’s initiatives towards achieving development, peace, security and economic growth will enable stability and prosperity in the Southern African region. Each country here present is rich in natural resources, which is key towards future economic growth.

Therefore, in this context, I would like to emphasise the pivotal role of the JOGMEC Botswana Geologic Remote Sensing Centre, which offers capacity building to promote sustainable resource development,” said Mr Takeda.

He indicated that Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was an important organ. JICA, he said coordinated and implementedthe development cooperation of the government of Japan and it has long been present in many SADC member countries and established its office in Botswana much earlier than the embassy did.

He said since then, JICA had carried out various technical cooperation schemes in addition to the programme of sending volunteers and acceptance of trainees.

“Our embassy has been working closely with the government of Botswana as well as the SADC secretariat and I hope building on the foundation laid by JICA as a pioneer, we were and will be able to contribute to the economic and social development in Botswana and the SADC region,” he continued.

He noted that the private sector in Japan had also shown its interest in the region.

Mr Takeda said last year the embassy of Japan and Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) hosted the Japan Business & Investment mission to Botswana where 20 Japanese companies and five public organisations participated all the way from mainland Japan, London, Paris, South Africa and Singapore in the hope of future trade and investment. Ends