EU deal �sweetest of them all� for SADC

Cecilia Malmstrom is optimistic about the EPA.PIC: KAGISO ONKATSWITSE
Cecilia Malmstrom is optimistic about the EPA.PIC: KAGISO ONKATSWITSE

It took 12 years of grinding negotiations, muted tempers and repressed frustrations, but this week, the European Union and six SADC states signed a deal observers say is the sweetest of the offers made to the region. Having followed the arduous talks for years, Staff Writer, MBONGENI MGUNI reports, as the euphoria settles

On May 19, 2010, having watched the trade talks with the EU drag on with little concession and mounting ‘soft threats’, Namibian president, Hage Geingob had had enough.

Trade negotiations by nature involve all parties smiling to the media and the public, while gritting their teeth behind the scenes, but frustrations had been mounting as the trade talks reached their seventh year without completion.

Editor's Comment
Closure as pain lingers

March 28 will go down as a day that Batswana will never forget because of the accident that occurred near Mmamatlakala in Limpopo, South Africa. The tragedy affected not only the grieving families but the nation at large. Batswana throughout the process stood behind the grieving families and the governments of Botswana and South Africa need much more than a pat on the back.Last Saturday was a day when family members said their last goodbyes to...

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