Mmegi

Botswana’s envoy to China targets billion-Pula investment drive

Lekoko Kenosi.PIC.KENNEDY RAMOKONE
Lekoko Kenosi.PIC.KENNEDY RAMOKONE

Botswana is sharpening its economic diplomacy with China, placing foreign direct investment (FDI) at the centre of a broader push to reconfigure the country’s growth model. At the centre of that effort is newly appointed envoy to China, Professor Lekoko Kenosi tasked with converting a 50-year diplomatic relationship into a pipeline of capital, technology and industrial capability.

From modest beginnings in Palapye to one of the most strategic diplomatic postings in Botswana’s foreign service, Kenosi steps into the role at a time when the country’s economic fundamentals are under pressure. Slowing growth, constrained fiscal space and persistent reliance on diamond revenues have forced a re-calibration of policy priorities.

Botswana and China have maintained diplomatic relations since 1975, with cooperation spanning infrastructure, healthcare, education and trade. Bilateral trade now exceeds $1 billion annually, but the relationship has largely been project-based, with limited transformation of Botswana’s production base.

Editor's Comment
BPF should get house in order

Speaker of the National Assembly, Dithapelo Keorapetse, has this week rightly washed his hands of the mess, refusing to wade into a party squabble that has no clear leadership and no single version of the truth.When a single party sends six different letters to the Speaker’s office, each claiming to be the authoritative voice, it is not just confusion, but an embarrassment.Keorapetse is correct to insist on institutional boundaries. Parliament...

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