Botswana and Kenya to firm up trade ties

Kenya and Botswana businesses have drawn up plans to increase trade between them.

Presentations from both groups Tuesday at a one-day business forum at the Windsor Resort in Kiambu, revealed massive investment opportunities in Kenya and Botswana that traders can cash in on.

Mining expertise

Kenya, for instance, is interested in gaining expertise in mining, an area where Botswana has decades of experience as it has nurtured an industry that significantly contributes to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

Botswana on its part wants to borrow skills from Kenya’s agriculture. Kenya is currently discussing proposed mining regulations and exploitation and how to avoid exporting raw resources.

Botswana’s mining sector is well-established.

“Maybe we can look at more partnerships with our counterparts from Botswana in this area,” Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero, who presided over the opening session of the forum, said.

Dr Kidero said Kenyan tea and coffee are popular in the South African Development Corporation nations.

Botswana High Commissioner to Kenya John Moreti said that while the two countries have had cordial ties for years, this cooperation has not been extended to trade.