BITC woos Turkish investors
Pauline Dikuelo | Wednesday October 7, 2015 15:14
The delegation, which is led by the Turkish ambassador to Botswana, Ibrahim Yagli as well as the Turkish Minister of Economy, Nihat Zeybekci include investors from various sectors such as manufacturing, services, agriculture, mobile hospital, energy, water, extractive industries as well as Turkish Exporters Assembly.
Speaking at a seminar held in Gaborone yesterday, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Peggy Serame said as a developing country attracting foreign direct investment is critical in closing the infrastructure gap.
“This opportunity for interaction between business and captains of industry provides a good platform to facilitate trade and investment between our two countries. It is worth noting that the sectors that are in this delegation, are some of the priority sectors for driving economic growth and diversification in Botswana,” she said. She added that the interaction would provide an opportunity for local businesses to take advantage of the well-established international markets and opportunities that would be presented by the Turkish business and the market, which is one of the largest emerging markets.
Serame assured investors that the government is geared towards retaining investors and creating an environment that is conducive. It is also competing with other industrialised countries in the regional context with emerging economies, said Serame.
“As a land-linked country, market access plays an important role in our investment promotion and attraction strategy, given the size of our local market. In this regard, local production of goods and services is not only targeting the domestic market but also regional and international markets through the bilateral agreements that we have with them,” Serame noted.
She said the country is facing a number of challenges including; narrow economic and industrial base, limited export commodities, inadequate infrastructure and high unemployment. According to Serame, the country has a narrow manufacturing base as 80 percent of what the country consumes is imported.
She, however, added that the government’s focus is on attracting companies that can produce some of the goods that the country imports in high quantities as well as those that can be produced for the export market.
“We recognise the private sector as an important partner and a pivotal catalyst for wealth creation, job creation, economic growth and development,” she added.
In addition, coordinator of the Agricultural Hub, Mmadima Nyathi told the delegation that there is an opportunity for them to import beef to their country, as there is currently no exports directed to Turkey. According to Nyathi, investors can also exploit ostrich farming, which she said has a high potential, as there are readily available farms with EU-certified export abattoirs.