During an interview with CGTN, Botswana’s Minister of International Relations, Phenyo Butale, says trade and economic cooperation with China has benefited industrialization in the country.
Zhao Yunfei, CGTN Reporter “This year marks the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between China and Botswana, and last year the relationship between the two countries elevated to a strategic partnership. So, how do you evaluate the outcomes of the diplomatic ties between the two countries over the past five decades?”
Phenyo Butale, Minister of International Relations of Botswana “Thank you very much. We have, as you have stated, been enjoying excellent relations with the People’s Republic of China. And our analysis and evaluation of the relationship is that it has been a relationship that has been mutually beneficial. It has been a win-win relationship. We have benefited a lot from, first of all, China’s wisdom, China’s experience in moving from one of the small, poor countries to the industrialized, big player it is now on the global stage. It is an opportunity for us to reimagine these relations. We have our own ambitious plan of industrialization, or industrializing rapidly, job creation, digitization of our economy, and massive infrastructure upgrades. All these, we believe, are a journey that China, as a country, has travelled through, and we are looking forward to learning and leveraging on our relations.”
CGTN Reporter “You mentioned Botswana’s industrialization, and you also mentioned the practical cooperation between the two countries. So we know that China is one of Botswana’s largest trading partners, and how does this kind of trade and economic exchange contribute to Botswana’s transformation and social development?”
Phenyo Butale, Minister of International Relations of Botswana “It will contribute and it has contributed immensely to our development. We also know that the situation where China is currently in terms of the ability of the economy to be so resilient is something that inspires us. We know that Botswana has been, to a large extent, a single commodity economy, dependent largely on diamonds. We now have to implement diversification, we have to ensure that we take part in downstream industries, and diamonds and other minerals, to which we are inviting China. We have seen ourselves as the gateway to Southern Africa, the gateway to Africa. Many Chinese companies could then be interested in setting up manufacturing plants in Botswana, and launching into the big Southern African markets.”
Source: CGTN
