The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on increased Cooperation with the American Business Council (ABC) in Botswana. The instrument is perceived to be a key catalyst in establishing a basis for long term and increased cooperation between the business communities in Botswana and the United States of America.
According to MITI, the collaboration between MITI and ABC is anticipated to create a conducive environment for the development of sustainable industries and trade with a view to diversify and grow the economy of Botswana.
This will be done with major objectives to foster business growth in support of creating an informational resource for intra business growth; facilitate key partnerships in Botswana-U.S. business-related events, jointly consulting to capitalise on such beneficiation; facilitation of tripartite dialogues (US Government, MITI, the private sector) conducted quarterly to discuss key issues affecting both Parties; promotion of high-end trade and investment opportunities, and creation of a competitive and progressive business environment in and between Botswana and the United States.
Equally, the idea is to continuously complement existing initiatives, such as those stipulated under the revised AGOA National Response Strategy for Botswana, to promote business and trade directly between the two countries; and Solidify towards a sustainable and long-term relationship that harmonizes the aforementioned and other set activities.
“Based on the scope of cooperation highlighted in the aforementioned, the MoU is premised on the development of sectors stipulated under the National Development Plans and considers the current developments at national, continental and global levels,” said MITI.
“The opportunities presented by the MoU further support efforts in industrialisation, market intelligence, reactiveness and innovation. These are critical in the current sphere as we see global issues such as COVID-19 affecting small-medium scale exports. Lastly, its spirit is centered on elevating diversification in cross cutting issues on trade promotion, industrialisation, enterprise development, standards protocols in the value chains, just to name a few.”