President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday, 4 August, go on a working visit to Botswana to conduct talks at the high-level South Africa-Botswana Business Roundtable.
The First Citizen will visit Gaborone at the invitation of his Botswanan counterpart, Dr. Eric Mokgweetsi Masisi, the President’s Office said.
The high-level South Africa-Botswana Business Roundtable takes place against the backdrop of the fifth meeting of the BNC, which was held on April 22, 2022, in Tshwane.
“The two neighbouring countries are this year marking 28 years of diplomatic and bilateral cooperation, which spans trade and investment, energy, agriculture, tourism, youth and sport, infrastructure development, culture, mining, defence and security, immigration, environmental conservation and management, transport as well as information and communication technologies,” the statement read.
The South Africa-Botswana Business Forum, set for August 3, 2022, will serve as the start of the two-day discussion.
Government and business officials from both nations will attend the summit, which will outline a series of practical steps to foster the development of business-to-business ties, regional value chains under the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA).
At the Gaborone International Convention Centre, a trade expo of companies operating in both nations will include 22 South African companies from a variety of industries.
Botswana’s top supplier of imports is South Africa, and Botswana is South Africa’s seventh-largest export market.
Exports from South Africa to Botswana totaled R64.4 billion in 2021, and during the previous five years, they increased by 2.53 percent, or R13.4 billion.
President Ramaphosa will be accompanied by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Dr. Naledi Pandor and Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition Ebrahim Patel.