Gaborone — The 15th US-Africa Business Summit should foster avenues for new and better trade opportunities between Africa and the US, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi said yesterday.
He said: "It is crucial that the summit explores the opportunities for creating inclusive trading systems that benefit all nations. In that regard, the summit should come up with ways to build strong, balanced and transparent systems between Africa and the US". This, he added, would help Africa to achieve its objective of becoming an integral and competitive part of the global economy.
"The platform occasions stronger US and Africa trade, investment and commercial ties, particularly so in the wake of the unprecedented health and economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.
The President also said the summit should address major challenges bedevilling the continent, among them slow industrialisation, unemployment, lack of economic diversification, skills gaps, narrow export commodities and low export capacities. "Botswana constitutes less than 0.2 per cent of Africa's population and contributes about one per cent of Africa's GDP.
As the largest producer of gem diamonds by value, it is also imperative that Botswana develops value chains for raw materials to allow for greater value addition," he said. Dr Masisi said it was important that Botswana spurred innovation and growth, adapted to climate change, built sustainability, deepened economic diversification, and created opportunities for exploitation of global supply chains.
He explained that Botswana's Reset Agenda relied on greater private sector involvement to drive value chain development in major industries ranging from mining, tourism, agriculture and education.
"However, Botswana's efforts alone without full integration into the global economic system stands to be a futile exercise, hence the formation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a welcome development," President Masisi said.
Once fully operational, AfCFTA would build and strengthen regional integration as well as boost intra-Africa trade, thus increasing value-added production, trade across all valuable sectors of the continental economy and attaining the vision of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, he said.
He said renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) initiative, due to expire in 2025, would further give a strong signal and confidence to the markets and serve as a catalyst for Africa's industrialisation and inclusion into global value chains.
Dr Masisi commended US President Joe Biden's administration for supporting African Agenda 2063 through announcement of several initiatives during the US-Africa Leaders' Business Summit, which was held in Washington DC in December last year.
For his part, Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) board chairperson, Mr Jeff Sturchio said the 15th US-Africa Summit also marked the CCA's 30th anniversary.
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Mr Sturchio said CCA was crucial in fostering deeper understanding of private sector imperatives and needs as well as fostering private sector's deeper understanding of government needs and expectations. He commended President Masisi for the enthusiasm in hosting the summit and ensuring that Botswana Investment and Trade Corporation (BITC) catalysed and mobilised the private sector to attend and support it.
"America views the summit as crucial to advancing the resolutions made at the 2022 US Leaders' Summit in Washington.
Since then, there has been a lot of action in partnership with the African and US private sectors, and African governments and multilateral institutions," he said. Mr Sturchio assured delegates that CCA would ensure that the platform created exchange of ideas and best practice. "Through this summit, CCA seeks to mobilise action, foster connections and create space and time for the connections for business ties to be established," he added. Over 1000 delegates, among them heads of state from Africa, US and African governments and private sector representatives are attending the summit. /BOPA
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