30 Jan 2023

Botswana is raring to host the 15th US-Africa Business Summit scheduled for June, President Dr  Mokgweetsi  Masisi has said.

Speaking during a courtesy call paid on him by Corporate Council on Africa CEO Ms  Florie Liser, President Masisi expressed pleasure that Botswana  would be hosting the  summit at a  time  when  government’s Reset Agenda was in full swing.

“It  is pleasing to note  that  the proposed theme which is Enhancing Africa’s Value in Global  Value Chains resonate well with  the government  Reset  Agenda  which seeks  to promote  value  chain  beneficiations  among others,” President Masisi  said. 

Based on its development success story and good  governance, he said Botswana stood ready  to share  lessons, experiences and  best  practices  with the  rest of  world  on the exploration of  value  chain  beneficiation and  foreign direct investment attraction.

He reaffirmed government’s readiness to provide technical assistance to all summit attendants to make it a success.

In her turn, Ms Liser said  as one of the world’s fastest growing economies over the past decade, Botswana was regarded as a successful model for sub-Saharan African countries. Botswana, she said,  had demonstrated that effective economic policies, good governance and investment in local processing created resilient economies. About the summit, Ms Liser said it presented a major platform to strengthen US-Africa trade and investment ties.

“We are honoured that the government of Botswana has accepted our invitation to host the 2023 US-Africa Business Summit in Gaborone and we thank President Masisi for embracing the opportunity to forge two-way trade and investment partnerships between the US and Africa,” she said.

In addition, Ms Liser said the summit would present a unique opportunity to sustain a positive momentum in US-Africa engagement and would therefore be a momentous occasion to present Africa as the US’ strong trade partner.

She said it would also be a  key pillar of Corporate Council on Africa’s engagement on the continent as it  aimed to host heads of state, government officials, top CEOs and senior business executives spanning major sectors that were critical to the continent’s development.

The sectors included  infrastructure, ICT, health, energy, mining and creative industries, she said.

The council is a leading US business association focusing solely on connecting business interests between the country and Africa. Ends