The Smart Partnership Movement was born in Kasane in 1997 when SADC heads of state and Malaysia came together to map out how they could develop national visions as a means to advance their economies.
Masire was speaking at a press briefing at the Gaborone Sun on Sunday where the Movement and the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management (CPTM) met to review the Movement's progress.
Masire said the Smart Partnership initiative had marked an important chapter in the development of the region as it inspired countries to develop national manifestos and for the first time, a platform for regional governments to come together and discuss developmental issues was created.
Masire reminded his audience that before the Smart Partnership initiative was born, regional countries were meeting at (only) three levels - the executive, industry and labour.
"We felt we could also do that at country level and met in Kasane and exchanged views," the former president said. "We agreed that we must have (national) manifestos like a political party.
"In Botswana, we called all groups - political groups, trade unions, government, the private sector, religion, and everyone - under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Baledzi Gaolathe.
"We asked the people, what would you like us to be? So that whoever leads this nation or that church or political party may know what we need. The future of Botswana was (thus) apolitically discussed."
Masire said other than that, the Smart Partnership Movement gives junior members of the Commonwealth an important forum of their own in the same way that the G8 is the rich nations' club.
The former president reminded his audience that the southern African region had first worked together as members of the Frontline States (FLS) during the struggle for liberation from minority white regimes in Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
He said during that time, the original FLS members - Zambia, Botswana , Lesotho, Swaziland and Tanzania - had constituted themselves into a diplomatic initiative to help the liberation struggle. Masire said as the struggle advanced and majority rule came to more countries in southern Africa, a new role was forged in the form of SADC in order "to provide a service to the region."
Gaolathe said although it is less than 10 years to 2016, he believes some of the aspirations of the Vision, including those that some people remain skeptical about, will be achieved by the time the country attains 50 years of independence in that year.
