Dr Phenyo Butale, Botswana’s Minister of International Relations, has highlighted the critical need to increase trade between African nations during a memorial lecture at North-West University. Speaking at an event honouring the late South African Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Aziz Pahad, Dr Butale expressed concern over Africa’s continued reliance on external markets despite its abundant resources.
Using the example of beef trade, he pointed out how African nations like Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo import from Brazil while overlooking high-quality beef available in Botswana and South Africa’s North West province. This pattern of preferring trade with Europe and the United States over regional partnerships potentially hampers Africa’s economic growth.
The minister emphasized the importance of implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, though noting that various challenges, including logistical and regulatory issues, currently impede progress. Dr Butale’s message stressed that Africa’s economic future depends not on the possibility of intra-continental trade, but on the collective will to make it happen.
Read the original article here: https://newbusinessethiopia.com/trade/botswana-urges-african-nations-to-bolster-regional-trade/