WeeklySA_AdminMUTUAL: President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africa and Botswana to deepen trade, infrastructure and energy cooperation, saying closer economic ties must deliver jobs, strengthen regional industries and unlock shared growth opportunities.
By Own Correspondent
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on South Africa and Botswana to pursue deeper economic cooperation anchored in trade, investment and industrial partnerships that create jobs and deliver shared prosperity for both nations.
Addressing the Botswana-South Africa Business Forum during the 6th Bi-National Commission in Botswana, Ramaphosa said the two neighbouring economies were closely intertwined and needed to build a more strategic partnership focused on mutual growth.
“One of our greatest tasks of the moment is to further deepen trade and investment relations between our two countries,” he said, stressing that economic cooperation should generate employment and unlock value from both nations’ natural resources and industrial capacity.
Ramaphosa identified agriculture as a key sector for expanded collaboration, saying both countries had opportunities to strengthen agro-processing, improve trade flows and create more predictable systems for the movement of agricultural goods across borders.
He welcomed Botswana’s assistance in facilitating vaccine supplies to help South Africa combat Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), adding that closer cooperation in vaccine production and animal disease management would benefit both countries’ agricultural industries.
The President also warned that climate change posed growing risks to food production, with droughts, flooding and water scarcity increasingly threatening agricultural output in both countries.
Infrastructure emerged as another major pillar of bilateral cooperation, with Ramaphosa highlighting projects aimed at improving trade logistics, transport and water security.
Rail cooperation
He backed plans for a One Stop Border Post at Tlokweng/Kopfontein to ease congestion and speed up the movement of people and goods, while also citing the proposed Lesotho-Botswana Water Transfer Project and the Ramotswa Transboundary Aquifer initiative as critical long-term water security interventions.
Ramaphosa said rail cooperation between Transnet and Botswana Rail on the proposed Mmamabula-Lephalale rail line would improve cargo movement and support industrial trade between the two countries. The 117km rail link is expected to transport up to 18 million tonnes of cargo annually.
Energy cooperation was also identified as a major frontier for growth, with Ramaphosa calling for the two countries to harness their abundant solar resources to power their economies and position themselves in the emerging green hydrogen market.
“In the long-term, our two countries must consider an energy corridor that links renewable generation sites along our borders and integrated grids,” he said.
Ramaphosa further urged South Africa and Botswana to work together in mining and mineral beneficiation, particularly around critical and rare earth minerals, to strengthen regional industrialisation and reduce reliance on raw commodity exports.
He said the two governments had agreed on ambitious plans for closer economic collaboration and challenged business leaders to help turn those commitments into investment, new industries and sustainable jobs.
Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Alexandra Abrahams echoed the call, urging a more implementation-driven approach to bilateral economic cooperation focused on industrialisation, investment and regional value chains.
Fight against FMD
South Africa and Botswana have agreed on an urgent cross-border action plan to strengthen the fight against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), with Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen calling for swift implementation of coordinated measures to protect livestock and agricultural trade.
The 2026-2028 plan, endorsed at the Bi-National Commission in Gaborone, includes joint vaccination campaigns, border fence maintenance, improved disease surveillance and livestock traceability systems.
Steenhuisen said regional cooperation was critical as animal diseases ignore borders, while also welcoming plans for a cross-border stock theft task force and improved trade communication to prevent agricultural export disputes between the two neighbouring countries. – WSAM/SAnews.co.za
