Kenya, Botswana seek to boost trade, investment ties

Kenya and Botswana on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at boosting trade and investment partnerships in agriculture, agri-business, ICT, horticulture and manufacturing among others.

Kenya's Cabinet Secretary of Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Adan Mohamed told a Kenyan-Botswana forum that Nairobi had been proactive in its efforts to improve relations between the two nations to capitalize on business and investment opportunities for their mutual benefit.

"Kenya has achieved an improved status with our counterparts and this has provided us with a favorable reputation in the global economy," Mohamed said.

"We now want to leverage this global perception to further the country's economic capacity for production and expand our trade commodity variety to access different markets," he added.

Kenya's main imports from Botswana are general electricals, rubber material, clothing, furniture, household electricals, television receivers and pottery whilst the country exports pharmaceuticals, mineral oils, fruit juices, instruments and appliances, lighting and fittings.

This MOU signing comes a time when Kenya has ramped up the local business environment, supported by the recent improvement in the Ease of Doing Business ranking to position 92. This testifies to the numerous regulatory changes seen and developments experienced in the Kenyan business climate.

Improved regulatory policies and tax incentives for export based industries like Special economic zones in Mombasa, Lamu and Kisumu will reap benefits in the foreseeable future marketing Kenya as a preferred investment destination.

Mohamed said Kenya was excited at the signing of this MoU as a show of commitment to strengthening trade and investment relationship with Botswana as the government seeks to "leverage our competitive advantages in diverse industries for our mutual benefit."

According to the State Minister, Investment, Trade and Industry of Botswana Vincent T. Seretse, his country was committed to improving relations and leveraging Kenya's competitive positioning in Africa to improve his country's economic capabilities.

"We are committed to exploring alternative industries to facilitate increased trade in ICT, agri-business among others to promote the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for both nations. We look forward to increased interaction in the coming months and years," he added.

The day-long forum is jointly organized by the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce, Kenya Investment Authority and its counterpart in Botswana, the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) among others.

The forum presents a platform for high level discussions between decision makers, business organizations, economic communities and other participants to assist the government's efforts to actualize its long-term plans under the country's vision 2030 strategy to create a robust and diverse economy. Endit