Ghana and Botswana have made commitments to promote trade between the two countries to enhance intra-African trade”.
To this end, a five-member committee drawn from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has been tasked to liaise with their Botswana counterparts to promote bilateral cooperation between the two countries. .
This came to light when Mrs Dorcas Nakgaho-Malesu, Minister of Trade and Industry for Botswana and Mr Christiaan De-Graaff, Minister for Food and Agriculture, paid a courtesy call on Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister for Trade, at his office in Accra.
Also present was Mr Kofi Humado, Minister for Food and Agriculture.
Briefing her Ghanaian’ counterparts” about .the economic prospects of Botswana, Mrs NakgahomaIesu said her country has vast experience in cattle rearing and export.
She said with a population of two million people, Botswana can boast of a cattle population of about three million ”Which put the country in a better stead to export meat.
Mrs Nakgaho-Malesu said “currently, Botswana exports meat to the. European Union Market and is now looking for market within Africa to expand its meat export.
She said “Ghana is a fertile ground for such an export since the country has made significant strides in its economic progression”.
Mrs Nakgaho-Malesu said exporting meat to Ghana would not only lead to economic gains for both countries but also help to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries.’ ‘.
Mr Iddrisu said “Ghana also stands to gain from the bilateral trade since it has realised that some Ghanaian firms have migrated to Botswana to set up hair- dressing businesses”.
He said as a result a number of hair products used in Ghana are-imported from Botswana saying “it would be on this basis, that the Ministry would want to explore more means of expanding that market”.
Mr Iddrisu said “Botswana can also make use of the growing textile industry in Ghana by introducing some of the Ghanaian-designed cloths onto her market” .
Mr Humado said the import of cattle and meat from Botswana, would be in the right direction since many of the butchers the ministry had interacted with complain of the difficulty in getting cattle from the neighbouring countries for the local market.
Mr Humado said the butchers group would welcome such bilateral trade agreement to import cattle from Botswana.
Source: Ghanaian Times
