Maun — United States government will consider extension of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) programme which comes to an end in 2025, says US ambassador to Botswana, Mr Howard Van Vranken.
Enacted in 2000, AGOA is a trade arrangement between the United States and Sub-Saharan African countries including Botswana which runs until 2025. The programme was to expire in 2015 but was extended for another 10 years.
Mr Van Vranken said in an interview on the side-line of the media engagement in Maun on Thursday that the programme was important as it offered exports from Sub-Saharan African countries including Botswana duty free access to the US market.
US market, he said, was large and the programme was an opportunity aimed to support growth of enterprises.
"Since AGOA comes to an end soon, we will re-look into it and see how best we can improve the programme as it produces positive results," he said.
Mr Van Vranken said they wanted to see an increase in products from Botswana citing that they were impressed as they recently saw jewellery made with diamonds, something which he said was a welcome development.
Batswana, he said should take advantage of the AGOA programme to exploit the international market and grow their businesses as well as to expand their market base.
Mr Van Vranken noted that they were eyeing to facilitate citrus products exportation through AGOA.
The ambitious citrus project is being implemented in Selebi Phikwe to transform the agricultural landscape as well as to create opportunities for people and businesses in the region.
The ambassador's mission in Maun was to engage journalists and share progress on the relationship between Botswana and US.
The ambassador emphasised that partnership between the two countries was important.
Mr Van Vranken also said his government through President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) invested millions of dollars into Botswana towards the fight against HIV/AIDS and expressed gratitude that the country did exceptionally well in that regard as many lives were saved.
His government, he said also partnered with locals and community based organisation to engage into projects aimed to provide solutions to their challenges.
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He cited the Eco-exist project aimed at reducing conflict and fostering coexistence between elephants and people.
In areas of heightened competition for space, he appreciated that the project facilitated solutions that worked for both humans and wildlife.
The US government, he said had also partnered with Okavango Research Institute (ORI) which was the largest research institute that offered learners the opportunity to carry out a natural science research.
Mr Van Vranken said they had engaged the institute to help do research on farming and mitigation of human wildlife conflict in the region.
For their part, journalist appreciated projects funded by the US government in the district over the years saying they were making a huge impact on the livelihood of the community.
An environmentalist journalist, Mr Boniface Keakabetse acknowledged that the US government also offered training to some local journalist focusing on conservation in the whole of Africa citing that the training was an eye opener and it enhanced their reporting on environment and conservation issues.
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