Trade networks help boost investment � Seretse
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Tuesday December 2, 2014 14:49
Speaking during the Democratic Union of Africa leadership conference, which was hosted by the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) over the weekend, Seretse said the networks lead to a vibrant, sustainable, and diversified economy that stimulates investment.
“Ideally, globalisation through the multi-lateral trading system should be more development-centered and foster regional integration resulting in cooperation initiatives that provide an enabling environment for growth and development,” Seretse said.
He said enabling policies are of paramount importance, particularly at a time when the world is confronted with yet another period of economic uncertainty. The minister also noted that trade networks could aid in the provision of an enabling environment for trade to be one of the main pistons in the engine of economic growth and development.
“To this effect, I can proudly state that Botswana actively contributed to the negotiation and conclusion of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation in Bali, Indonesia in December 2013.
Assistance has been requested from international organisations such as UNCTAD to aid the implementation of the Agreement so as to realise its benefits.”
He said at regional level, Botswana along with other SACU countries, has embarked on a number of trade facilitation projects such as on IT connectivity, cooperation on enforcement and risk management inter alia.
The minister said nationally, they have established the National Doing Business Committee in 2011, which aims to improve the ease of doing business.
The committee, he said, provides a conducive environment for doing business and thus making Botswana globally competitive as a destination of choice for investors from across the globe.
Therefore, said the minister, cooperation in the infrastructure services sector (including transport, ICT, and energy) remains a key challenge to sustain growth at both the regional and global level. “Thus cooperation is not only needed to finance the projects and lower construction, maintenance, and operating costs, but also to maximise the ensuing benefits accruing from improved productivity and trade capacity.” He said establishing infrastructure networks and strengthening substantive regulatory cooperation among regulators could contribute towards improving the quality of these services.