Botswana: Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) yesterday hosted a delegation of senior government officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to promote Botswana’s investment proposition and to assist in facilitating relevant stakeholder engagement activities for the delegation.
The visit is a follow-up to the recent state visit to Botswana in May led by Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, the President of the Republic of Congo (DRC). The purpose of the visit is to explore areas of mutual interest in growing bilateral trade and investment in the mining sector, particularly diamonds.
The mission comes at an opportune time to strengthen and identify effective strategies to operationalize the recently signed memorandum of understanding between BITC and Agence Nationale pour la Promotion des Investissements (ANAPI), the apex investment promotion agency in DRC.
The DRC delegation will be in Botswana from 12th to 16th June 2023 and is expected to conduct a series of meetings and site visits to key diamond sector stakeholders from the public and private sectors.
The visit also serves as a benchmarking platform with key areas of interest covering governance, policy and regulatory framework, market dynamics, skills development opportunities, diamond beneficiation, and mining technology, among others.
Last month in May, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, visited the Jwaneng Mine. President Tshilombo, was on a three-day state visit, toured the diamond mine to appreciate the process of mining in Botswana.
He also congratulated Jwaneng Mine management for the way they are managing the sector and their employees. After the visit, Tshisekedi expressed his appreciation for how Botswana manages its resources for the development of the country and its people, as well as the relationship Botswana has with the private sector, which he hopes to replicate in the DRC.
He said Botswana has a reputation and style of management envied by the whole world.