INVITATION: Brian Mosenene encourages Chinese to invest in Botswana (XIAO YING)

The Africa Joint Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo is working hard to raise awareness of the many diverse countries that make up the continent. One of those countries is Botswana. Recently, Brian Mosenene, the visiting Director of Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA) sat down with ChinAfrica reporter Yu Nan and shared his views on the Shanghai Expo and Sino-Botswanian economic and trade cooperation.

ChinAfrica: The Africa Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo is the largest in terms of the number of African participants and exhibition area in the history of the Expo. What is your view on this event as a platform to raise awareness of African countries around the world?

Brian Mosenene: The Africa Pavilion at Shanghai Expo is a huge opportunity to [enhance] the Chinese people's understanding of the African continent. People now understand Africa is not one big country, but a continent with a number of countries with different economies and different approaches to economic development. Talking about Botswana, what we are very keen on is that our stand at the Expo would be able to showcase Botswana's economic and cultural development to Chinese people, allowing people to understand clearly what we have done in terms of economic development and how we are structured from a cultural aspect. So when Chinese people visit the Expo, they would have better understanding of Botswana.

The theme of the Botswana exhibition is "The legacy of peace." Why did you choose this theme? How is your theme connected to the Shanghai Expo theme of "Better City, Better Life?"

Basically it means the history of peace. If you look at the African continent, a lot of countries have had wars and conflicts. But Botswana, since it started, has never had conflicts. We have always been a peaceful and democratic country. We have held peaceful elections over the last 44 years. Under this peaceful environment, we are able to develop the economy that is among the top three economies in Africa. As a country, if you are not stable, you cannot develop your economy. So stability, peace, and democracy contribute to the development of the country.

[Talking about how our theme is connected to the Expo's theme,] basically, we are [one of] the better countries on the continent. With our peaceful, stable and superior economic development over the years, there is a better life for everybody to live and do business in Botswana. Therefore, the cities in the country where people live and do business will try to be better cities in the continent with better lifestyles.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of China-Botswana diplomatic ties. Please briefly introduce the economic and trade cooperation and achievements between the two sides.

The economic and trade cooperation between two sides dates back years. In the 1980s, China was assisting us to construct our railway lines. As the years went on, we now see a lot of participation from China in Botswana's national projects in the construction sector, for instance, airports, roads, dams and power stations. The bilateral cooperation mainly consisted in the infrastructure construction area.

From the trade perspective, Chinese people are doing business in the sectors such as electronics, textile and consumer goods, and a lot of Chinese goods are entering into our market. The top trade items between the two sides mainly include machinery, electronics, diamonds, and other consumer products. We are a free and open market economy; therefore the Chinese private sector has found opportunities in trade. Botswana is very much open for anybody to do business. As long as your products are able to compete, you can do business there.

Botswana was once praised as one of the African countries with the best investment environment. What investment incentives will BEDIA provide to encourage Chinese enterprises and businesspeople to invest in Botswana?

The biggest incentive is that people will invest their money in a very stable economic environment. The second is that our tax regime is quite low. And we don't have exchange control. The Botswana Government will give first priority to those who are investing in our country. For example, if Chinese investors want to produce and sell goods in the country, the Botswana Government will give first preference to them. Chinese business people should know that Botswana's legal system protects their investments. Botswana's policies are predictable and don't change often. The other key element is that they need to use BEDIA, because BEDIA has facilities to provide one-stop and fast track service.

What are your expectations on future prospects for China-Botswana economic and trade cooperation?

I think the prospects are very bright. It is very clear in terms of projects with Chinese participation, particularly some construction projects, and we see that it has been growing. The other thing is that we also have cooperation with some Chinese ministries and private sectors. We are getting a lot of enthusiastic feedback when we tell people the story of Botswana. China-Botswana economic and trade cooperation gives both Chinese and Botswana people opportunities and a sense of enthusiasm.