Botswana wants to deepen trade with EU amid Trump's trade tariffs
As the African Union and European Union foreign ministers pledge to boost cooperation on peace, security and the economy, Botswana has called for Brussels to lead more strategic investments in the country.
Speaking to Euronews, Botswana's foreign minister, Phenyo Butale, said his country is open for business. Butale, who participated in the third EU-AU ministerial meeting in Brussels, said that although Botswana has enjoyed solid relations with the EU, there is an opportunity to deepen ties.
"There is room for us and Europe and Belgium to reimagine this relationship and ensure that we improve our trade and ensure that Botswana and Europe benefit mutually from this relationship," he said.
Butaye's call for more trade and investment with the EU comes amid a 37% trade tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on Botswana, making it one of the hardest-hit nations in Africa.
The country's economy, which is heavily reliant on the exports of diamonds, contracted last year by 3.1% from a weak global demand for the gem.
Lauded for decades as the world's fastest-growing economy, Botswana's diamond exports are second only to Russia. However, the southern African nation's gemstones are typically larger and considered of greater value.
This year's economic forecast suggests a 3.3% growth based on an expected recovery in the global diamond market and "continued positive sentiment in the non-diamond mining sectors," according to a budget speech made by the Finance Minister, Ndaba Gaolathe, in February.
That optimism is now being questioned as fears of a disruption to global trade supply chains sparked by the Trump administration's trade tariff war pose long-term implications for exporters looking to diversify markets beyond traditional partners.
According to Butale, relations with the US, which he describes as a key ally, will remain excellent.
"We are engaged with the government of the US through bilateral and diplomatic channels. We have an excellent relationship with the US and believe this relationship, which has existed for years, will be able to ensure an amicable and mutually beneficial solution for both countries."
Botswana's total exports in 2023 amounted to around €5.4 billion and although less than 2% of that went to the US, much of it was carried out within the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) programme that provides duty-free access to the US market for most exports from eligible sub-Saharan African countries.
That trade pact is scheduled to expire this September, marking a key decision point for the programme's future.
In contrast, the EU is Botswana's second largest trading partner after South Africa.
According to the European Commission report on Botswana, the 27-nation bloc maintains long-standing economic and trade relations with Gaborone.
The EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) has been the foundation of this solid trade and investment relationship since its start of implementation in 2016, the EU Commission says.
Focusing on the areas of green transformation, economic diversification and job creation, the EU allocated €24 million in bilateral funding to its partnership with Botswana, for the period 2021-2027.
The European Union stated its support for Botswana's efforts to develop and strengthen eco-tourism and horticulture value chains, transition to more sustainable energy sources and advance the country's digital agenda.
Butale on Thursday lauded this cooperation and urged for more mutually beneficial investment.
"There are a lot of opportunities in the mineral sector. Right now, there is a rush for rare earth minerals and there are opportunities in that space," he said.
Last year, Botswana witnessed a historic and peaceful transfer of power, marking a significant shift after the long-ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) lost to the opposition, a change many analysts have attributed to a desire for transformation among voters, who were seeking solutions to economic challenges and job creation.
Sometimes history creates moments that appear too surreal to be true. In the United States, 14 June is set to be one of those. It's the day the US Army celebrates its 250th birthday, a historic event worth remembering.
Since its official establishment on that day in 1775, over a year before the Declaration of Independence, the US military has played a vital role in the growth and development of the American nation.
14 June is also President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, a coincidence which the White House has wasted no time in seizing as an opportunity to achieve Trump's long-held desire to stage a military parade in the streets of Washington.
Trump caught the parade bug during his first term when French President Emmanuel Macron invited him to appear as guest of honour for the pomp of Paris' Bastille Day march.
A green-eyed Trump considered something on a grander scale for Pennsylvania Avenue.
Although parades have celebrated US military achievements in the past, the grandeur of ticker tape parades in Trump's native New York were rendered obsolete in the 1960s, as television and computers came into use for transmitting financial information.
Until recently, the Army's 250th birthday festival plans did not include a parade.
The festival had been in the planning for more than a year, featuring displays of military equipment, musical performances and a fitness competition on the National Mall.
Then, two months ago, Trump got involved. And now a parade is on the cards.
Officially, it's not about the president. The historic celebration of the Army's 250th birthday "will honour generations of selfless Americans who have risked everything for our freedom," the White House said.
Trump might not always have appreciated that sacrifice, according to reports which have cited him in the past referring to US soldiers in a cemetery near Paris as "losers" and "suckers."
Nor did Trump himself appear keen to join the army, having avoided the draft for the Vietnam war several times.
But that was then and now is now. And now means the military display has to be big.
According to official planning documents, the twin-celebration includes almost 7,000 soldiers, more than 120 military vehicles, 25 Abrams tanks and 50 helicopters.
In addition, there will be a 'spectacular' fireworks display and a day-long festival on the National Mall, an Army spokesman said in a statement.
Planning is ongoing and could still be changed.
But not everyone is happy with where things are going.
"In general, the US is more comfortable with patriotism than Europe," Ian Lesser, vice president at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and executive director of the GMF's Brussels office told Euronews, adding, "But It shouldn't be about Trump, but about the US Army."
Lesser also pointed to the possibility of tanks tearing up the streets. 'Washington's infrastructure is not designed to support heavy military equipment."
This is also what worries the mayor of the District of Columbia, Muriel Bowser.
"If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads," she said in April.
Trump's first-term plan was ultimately dumped due to the huge estimated costs, as high as $92 million.
This time, cost estimates run much lower, but still in the tens of millions of dollars, this at a time when Trump and his Department by Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Elon Musk, have slashed federal agencies, personnel and programmes to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse.
Meanwhile, opposition to Trump's military parade plan is growing.
Thus far, in more than 100 locations across the United States, a coalition of groups, including Our Revolution, a grassroots-funded group close to liberal Senator Bernie Sanders, is organising a nationwide day of protests.
They call it "No Kings Day."
"Donald Trump is set to honour himself with an extravagant, taxpayer-funded military tank parade through Washington, DC on his own birthday – a spectacle more suited for kings and dictators, not US presidents," it says in a fundraising email.
"In America, we reject authoritarianism and narcissistic self-celebration."
Trump's parade plans also became fodder for late night comedy.
On NBC's The Tonight Show, host Jimmy Fallon said, "Trump wants a full military parade for his birthday, so there will be tanks, fighter jets, and our most dangerous weapon, a self-driving Tesla."
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