11 Oct 2023

The 17th Global Expo Botswana 2023 maybe a harbinger of a continental economic partnership between the EU and SADC, both of which are attending the expo.

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi said yesterday, when officially opening the expo here, which also features the inaugural EU-Botswana Business Forum (EBBF), that the arrangement was part of efforts towards actualisation of the EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EU-SADC EPA).

He said the long-standing partnership between EU and Africa was demonstrated by several old mutual pacts such as the Lomé Convention and the Cotonou Agreement, which ushered in the current Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), a comprehensive north-south economic development treaty between Africa and the European Union.

Dr Masisi said such partnerships, if properly harnessed could help to address the critical shortage of economic enablers such as suitable road networks, railway lines, airports as well as necessary digital infrastructure, the presence of which could lead to a thriving of innovation and impactful knowledge-based industries.

It behoved African governments therefore, to align available institutional machinery, progressively rationalise policies and strategies for development, or develop new ones with a view to nurturing and favouring acceleration in order transform Africa into a future global powerhouse, he said.

The African Union (AU) was already working towards such a future, having declared 2023 as the year of ‘Accelerating Implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)’ whose aim was to create a single African market and further promote economic integration and development across the continent in line with the continental flagship project of Agenda 2063, he said.

With regard to Botswana, the President said the country had initiated a transformational agenda aimed at breaking current growth barriers, removing economic hurdles and building momentum towards its goal of achieving high-income status by 2036.

He said government also aimed to inspire people to own national development goals and seize available opportunities that came their way as countries and businesses began to emerge from their restrictive cocoons post the COVID-19 pandemic, through another priority drive, the Mindset Change.

President Masisi said the primary focus for forum discussions should be to create meaningful partnerships, and therefore urged delegates to suggest implementable policies and strategies that were supported by relevant structures.

He said the EU and the African Union had, during the 6th EU-AU Summit in Brussels in February last year, adopted a “Joint Vision for 2030” to consolidate a renewed partnership for solidarity, security, peace, sustained economic development and prosperity.

Through the renewed cooperation, EU committed to providing at least 450 million vaccine doses to Africa, in coordination with the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team  platform, by mid-2022.

To date he said, the bloc had provided more than US$3 billion worth of vaccines or the equivalent of 400 million vaccine doses to the Covax Facility, and towards vaccination of Africans. 

He said the kind gesture, which Botswana also benefitted from, was directly in line with the country’s ‘Reset Agenda’ initiative of saving Batswana from the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Masisi also recognised and applauded efforts made by different players, among them the country’s development partners, to position Botswana as the springboard to both regional and international markets. He said the country was determined to fully utilise opportunities presented by positive bilateral and multilateral relations as a way of broadening key socio-economic developmental areas such as education, health and finance, among others.

The President said issues planned for discussion were of fundamental importance to Botswana as it sought ways to sustainably benefit from areas such as renewable energy. Ends