04 Mar 2015

Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Vincent Seretse has left for Harare on Wednesday March 4 to attend a five day SADC council ministries meeting.

A press release from the ministry states that the purpose of the meeting which will start from March 5-7, is to prepare for the SADC Extra Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Governments scheduled for April 26 – 30 in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The release says in a bid to advance the integration process, the 34th Ordinary meeting of the SADC Summit of Heads of State was held in August 2014 in Victoria falls, with the mandate that industrialisation should take center stage in SADC’s integration agenda.

It further says the ministerial task force on regional economic integration was then mandated to develop a regional industrialisation strategy and roadmap for industrialisation in the region.

At this year’s SADC Council of Ministries meeting, ministers will among other things discuss the Regional Integration Development Plan (RISDP) 2015-2020, and its recommendation towards the development of the regional Industrialisation strategy and roadmap. 

The release states the meeting will also discuss the African Union and Continental Integration, the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Negotiations, the SADC-European Union Cooperation including the programming of the 11th European Development Fund (EDF).

Botswana is one of the 15 members of Southern African Development Community (SADC) and is party to the SADC Protocol on Trade, says the release.

The protocol, states the release provides the legal basis for SADC’s trade liberalisation and market integration programme, which came into force in January 2000, and its implementation commenced in September 2006.

It says minister Seretse will attend this meeting to ensure that the interests of Botswana are safeguarded when finalising the RISDP and Industrialisation Strategy and its roadmap. ENDS