Botswana President Advocate Duma Gideon has called on Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders to join hands in pursuing intra-trade cooperation and economic development within the region.
Delivering his maiden address at the 45th SADC summit in Antananarivo, Madagascar Boko said an end to poverty in the region can be achieved through diverse and flexible policies that allow intra-trade between countries to be achieved with ease.
Boko stated that for a nation thriving on harmony and peace, poverty has to come first. “Africa is in distress, it is calling, calling to each one of us. That cry of distress is a call, we must rise to the call here and now. We are here today to create pathways from our previous circumstances of our existence. The ways in which we have organized ourselves must be synchronized,” said Boko
He called for efforts to streamline trade processes, particularly for informal cross-border trade which has to be curbed. He noted that the informal cross-border trade has contributed a reduction in formal trade.
He added that cumbersome customs procedures and regulations continue to pose challenges to trade and heighten trade barriers between SADC countries.
