'Botswana needs no codified foreign policy'
Bame Piet | Tuesday April 25, 2017 16:57
Speaking during a panel discussion at the UB last Thursday, Mokhawa who teaches International Relations stated that Botswana’s outbursts on international issues has been strategic and worked well to position the country in the international arena.
“Foreign policy is not necessarily built on something, but practical examples of what is taking place at the time. States act in pragmatic manner, long or short-term, ethical or diplomatic issues at their interests,” she argued.
Mokhawa stated that foreign policy could be confusing and contradictory sometimes, as it is reactive to situations and requires diplomats to adapt to the ever-changing environment.
She said Botswana Government’s condemnation of human rights abuses abroad, unconstitutional change of Governments and disregard for the rule of law, have placed her as an influential country that should be taken seriously.
She said though Botswana is a relatively small country with a small economy, it could benefit immensely from its geographical location in the SADC region, as well as being home to the regional bloc’s headquarters.
She therefore, called on the Botswana Government to enhance economic performance by fully taking advantage of the SADC region by entering into as many bilateral relations with her neighbours as possible to grow trade and other political ties.
Supporting her arguments was permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Gaeimelwe Goitsemang who said his Ministry was doing all it can to safeguard Botswana’s interests abroad.
He said a codified foreign policy will not work well for the country since it is not flexible and may not provide answers to events taking place in the international community some of which are unprecedented.
“We are clear about the country’s aspirations; we are clear about our priorities as envisaged in the National Development Plan 11, the Vision 2036 and we know what to do,” he said.
Goitsemang said a codified foreign policy will be static, while in contrary other countries rely on dynamic and flexible foreign policies that respond to international events to protect their interests.
“We do not believe in a codified foreign policy because dynamics change and there is no ethical foreign policy. We live in an unethical world,” Goitsemang said.
There have been growing calls for a codified foreign policy from members of the legislature who argued that the country’s response to foreign events was inconsistent, undiplomatic and likely to create more enemies for Botswana.
This was after the Botswana Government broke ranks with SADC and AU members on a number of issues such as Zimbabwe’s Government, the International Criminal Court and making comments on wars happening all over the world.