Gaborone — Botswana is proud to make history in hosting its first biggest private sector conference since independence, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has said.
Welcoming the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) executives during a courtesy call at Office of President on July 11, he said Botswana was ready to start the summit in full swing.
The president said the nation was energised and in awe of the coming of the CCA to Botswana."We cherish your coming, we value your coming, and we want you to have lasting memories of being here," he said.
President Masisi said when CCA mooted the idea of Botswana hosting the summit in Morocco last year, it sounded pretty distant but everything was finally coming to reality. Botswana, he said, was looking positively into the future about what it could do given a chance. "We may be a small economy, but we are full of determination," he said.
President Masisi further said the impact that could be made through the hosting of CCA against the backdrop of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was immeasurable.
"So for US investment, I cannot think of any safer place for it other than here. We may not be having the numbers or technology, but we can assure you of the sustainability and longevity that we have and therefore the impact," he said.
CCA president and Chief Executive Officer, Ms Florie Liser said President Masisi proposed hosting the 15th US-Africa Business Summit in Marrakech, Morocco last year.
She said having been the only head of state who attended, he seized the opportunity to propose hosting and the board approved. Ms Liser said since the idea was mooted, Botswana demonstrated good working relationship with CCA, something that could not be overlooked.
She said the theme of the 15th US-Africa Business Summit, "Enhancing Africa's Value in Global Value Chains," was in recognition of things that Botswana and the rest of the continent was able to do with its endowment of raw materials, especially diamonds.
It also reflected on what African countries needed to do, adding Botswana had set the pace for many African countries in that regard.
Ms Liser said Africa accounted for less than three per cent of global trade despite its abundant natural resources.
It was time value chains were created, so Africa could benefit better from its natural resources, she said.
"Why not add value here within the continent and export to the rest of the world," she asked rhetorically, adding it was the only way Africa could capture its share of the global trade. Ms Liser said Botswana's recent successful negotiations with DeBeers was a good example of where Africa should be heading.
The CCA was delighted that this year's summit was able to attract more heads of state and senior government officials than one held last year in Morocco, she said. Meanwhile Deputy chair of CCA, Mr John Olajide said a lot of value additions could be made during the summit as many African business enterprises had partnered with American Small Micro Medium Enterprises (SMMEs).
He said part of the obligation of the CCA was to enhance value additions to ensure that communities were transformed and all benefitted from the partnerships.
"The power of economic development to transform societies is a classical example of America's soft power," he said.
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For his part, Vice Chair of CCA, General William Ward said the council was pleased by Botswana's political will to host the summit and the conducive environment on which the summit would be held.
He said Botswana had an effective political system that supported economic development and that Batswana should be excited about hosting the summit. President Masisi's resolve to host the summit was furthermore comforting, he said.
He added that the platform would provide a once-in-a-lifetime occasion for Batswana to tap into an array of opportunities presented to them.
The summit is expected to host over 1 000 delegates, among them heads of state and political representatives from various African countries and United States of America.
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