• China lends Nigeria Dollars 2bn in exchange for oil talks. • Ft com site : China oils Nigeria talks with loan

Finance and Development Planning--Baledzi Gaolathe
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation--Mompati S. Merafhe
Environment, Wildlife and Tourism--Onkokame Kitso Mokaila
Communications, Science and Technology--Pelonomi Venson
Office of the President for Justice and Security--Phandu T.C. Skelemani
Office of the President for Public Administration--Daniel Kwelagobe
Trade and Industry--Daniel Neo Moroka
Minerals Resources and Water Affairs--Ponatshego Kedikilwe
Lands and Housing--Dikgakgamatso Seretse
Local Government--Margaret Nasha
Education--Jacob Nkate
Health--Sheila Tlou
Works and Transport--Lesego Motsumi
Labour and Home Affairs--Charlies Tibone
Sports, Youth, and Culture--Moeng Pheto
Agriculture--Johnnie Keemenao Swartz
Ambassador to the United States--L. Caesar Lekoa
Ambassador to the United Nations--Samuel Otsile Outlule
Botswana maintains an embassy at 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036 (tel. [phone]; fax [phone]). Its mission to the United Nations is at 103 E. 37th Street, New York NY 10017 (tel. [phone]; fax [phone]).
ECONOMY
Since independence, Botswana has had the fastest growth in per capita income in the world. Economic growth averaged 9% per year from 1967-2005. The government has maintained a sound fiscal policy, despite three consecutive budget deficits in 2002-2004, and a negligible level of foreign debt. Foreign exchange reserves were $5 billion at the end of December 2005, equivalent to 22 months of imports of goods and services. Botswana's impressive economic record has been built on the foundation of wisely using revenue generated from diamond mining to fuel economic development through prudent fiscal policies and a cautious foreign policy. However, economic development spending was cut by 10% in 2004/2005 as a result of recurring budget deficits and rising expenditure on healthcare services. Development spending began to increase again in 2006/2007 and was budgeted to increase by 27% in the 2007/2008 fiscal year. Real GDP remained the same in 2005/2006, but the growth rate is expected to recover to around 5% in 2007/2008. The government recognizes that HIV/AIDS will continue to affect the economy and is providing leadership and programs to combat the epidemic, including free anti-retroviral treatment and a nationwide Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission program.
Mining
Debswana (formed by the government and South Africa's DeBeers in equal partnership) is the largest mining operation in Botswana. Several other mining operations exist in the country, including the Bamangwato Concessions, Ltd. (BCL, also with substantial government equity participation) and Tati Nickel.
Since the early 1980s, the country has been the world's largest producer of gem quality diamonds. Four large diamond mines have opened since independence. DeBeers prospectors discovered diamonds in northern Botswana in the late 1960s. The first mine began production at Orapa in 1972, followed by the smaller mines of Lethlakane and Damtshaa. What has become the single-richest diamond mine in the world opened in Jwaneng in 1982. The Orapa 2000 Expansion of the existing Orapa mine was opened in 2000. In December 2004, Debswana negotiated 25-year lease renewals for all four of its mines with the Government of Botswana. The Debswana carat output for 2006 was a record 34.3 million carats, making Debswana the world's leading diamond producer by value and volume. Exploration for other kimberlite pipes continues. In addition, as part of its drive to diversify and increase local value added within the mining sector, Botswana has announced plans to establish a joint venture company with De Beers, which will be Debswana's sorting and marketing arm.
BCL, which operates a copper-nickel mine at Selebi-Phikwe, has had a troubled financial history but remains an important employer, although the life of the mine is expected to end in the next 5 to 10 years. Other copper-nickel mines include Tati Nickel near Francistown. Botash, the sole producer of soda ash in the region and supported by substantial government investment, produced 265,000 tons of soda ash in 2005.
Coal bed methane gas has been discovered in the northeastern part of the country, estimated by the developers at a commercially viable quantity of 12 trillion cubic feet. Development of the gas fields has been slow, however.
Tourism
Tourism is an increasingly important industry in Botswana, accounting for approximately 10% of GDP in 2006. One of the world's unique ecosystems, the Okavango Delta, is located in Botswana. The country offers excellent game viewing and birding both in the Delta and in the Chobe Game Reserve--home to one of the largest herds of free-ranging elephants in the world. Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve also offers good game viewing and some of the most remote and unspoiled wilderness in southern Africa.
Agriculture
More than one-half of the population lives in rural areas and is largely dependent on subsistence crop and livestock farming. Agriculture meets only a small portion of food needs and contributes a very small amount to GDP--primarily through beef exports--but it remains a social and cultural touchstone. Cattle raising in particular dominated Botswana's social and economic life before independence. The national herd is estimated between 2 and 3 million head, but the cattle industry is experiencing a protracted decline.
Private Sector Development and Foreign Investment
Botswana seeks to further diversify its economy away from minerals, which account for 40% of GDP. Foreign investment and management are welcomed in Botswana. Botswana abolished foreign exchange controls in 1999, has a low corporate tax rate (15%), and no prohibitions on foreign ownership of companies. The country's inflation rate had remained stable and comparatively low over the 10 years preceding 2005. However, rising fuel and utility prices along with the government's 12.5% devaluation of the Pula in May 2005 resulted in a spike in inflation to 11.4% as of December 2005, which fell well outside the Bank of Botswana's target rate of between 4-7%. Inflation as of November 2007 was 7.7%. The Government of Botswana was considering additional policies to enhance competitiveness, including a new Foreign Direct Investment Strategy and National Export Development Strategy. Botswana's parliament adopted both a Privatization Master Plan and a new Competition Policy that were aimed at fostering economic diversification.
With its proven record of good economic governance, Botswana was ranked as Africa's least corrupt country by Transparency International in 2006, ahead of many European and Asian countries. The World Economic Forum rates Botswana as one of the two most economically competitive nations in Africa. In November 2005, Standard & Poor's once again assigned Botswana an "A" grade credit rating. This ranks Botswana as by far the best credit risk in Africa and puts it on par or above many countries in central Europe, East Asia, and Latin America.
U.S. investment in Botswana remains at relatively low levels. Major U.S. corporations, such as H.J. Heinz and AON Corporation, are present through direct investments, while others, such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and Remax, are present via franchise. The sovereign credit ratings by Moody's and Standard & Poor's clearly indicate that, despite continued challenges such as small market size, landlocked location, and cumbersome bureaucratic processes, Botswana remains one of the best investment opportunities in the developing world. Botswana has a 90-member American Business Council that accepts membership from American-affiliated companies.
Because of history and geography, Botswana has long had deep ties to the economy of South Africa. The Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), comprised of Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, and South Africa, dates from 1910, and is the world's oldest customs union. Under this arrangement, South Africa has collected levies from customs, sales, and excise duties for all five members, sharing out proceeds based on each country's portion of imports. The exact formula for sharing revenues and the decision-making authority over duties--held exclusively by the Government of South Africa--became increasingly controversial, and the members renegotiated the arrangement in 2001. A new structure has now been formally ratified and a SACU Secretariat has been established in Windhoek, Namibia. Following South Africa's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO, of which Botswana also is a member), many of the SACU duties are declining, making American products more competitive in Botswana. Currently the SACU countries and the U.S. are negotiating a Trade, Investment and Development Cooperation Agreement, scheduled to be signed in 2008. Botswana signed an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union in December 2007, and, as a member of SACU, it signed a preferential trade agreement in 2004 with Mercosur. SACU also has plans to negotiate free trade agreements with China, India, Kenya, and Nigeria.
Botswana's currency--the Pula--is fully convertible and is valued against a basket of currencies heavily weighted toward the South African Rand. Profits and direct investment can be repatriated without restriction from Botswana. The Botswana Government eliminated all exchange controls in 1999. The Central Bank devalued the Pula by 12.5% in May 2005 in a bid to maintain export competitiveness against the real appreciation of the Pula and restructured the exchange rate mechanism to a crawling peg system to ensure against future large-scale devaluations.
Botswana is a member of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), and Gaborone hosts the SADC Secretariat's headquarters. SADC replaced the Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference (SADCC--launched in 1980, which focused its efforts on freeing regional economic development from dependence on apartheid South Africa). SADC embraced the newly democratic South Africa as a member in 1994. It has a broad mandate to encourage growth, development, and economic integration in Southern Africa. SADC's Trade Protocol, which was launched on September 1, 2000, calls for the elimination of all tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade by 2008 among the 11 signatory countries. Zimbabwe's membership has limited SADC's opportunities for cooperation with the United States.
Transportation and Communications
A sparsely populated, semi-arid country about the size of Texas, Botswana has nonetheless managed to incorporate much of its interior into the national economy. An "inner circle" highway connecting all major towns and district capitals is completely paved, and the all-weather Trans-Kalahari Highway connects the country (and, through it, South Africa's commercially dominant Gauteng Province) to Walvis Bay in Namibia. A fiber-optic telecommunications network has been completed in Botswana connecting all major population centers. In November 2003, representatives of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa signed an MOU to simplify documentation to move cargoes to and from the Port of Walvis Bay in Namibia.
In addition to the government-owned newspaper and national radio network, there is an active, independent press (one daily and seven weekly newspapers). Two privately owned radio stations began operations in 1999, and a third began operations in 2008. In 2000, the government-owned Botswana Television (BTV) was launched, which is Botswana's first national television station. GBC is a commercially owned television station that broadcast programs to the Gaborone area only. Foreign publications are sold without restriction in Botswana, and there are 22 commercial Internet service providers. Two cellular phone providers cover most of the country.
DEFENSE
The president is commander in chief of the Botswana Defense Force (BDF). A defense council is appointed by the president. The BDF was formed in 1977 and has approximately 13,000 members.
The BDF is a capable and well-disciplined military force. Following positive political changes in South Africa and the region, the BDF's missions have increasingly focused on border control and anti-poaching activities. The United States has been the largest single contributor to the development of the BDF, and a large segment of its officer corps has received U.S. training. It is considered an apolitical and professional institution.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Botswana puts a premium on economic and political integration in Southern Africa. It seeks to make SADC a working vehicle for economic development, and promotes efforts to make the region self-policing in terms of preventative diplomacy, conflict resolution, and good governance. Botswana joins the African consensus on most major international matters and is a member of international organizations such as the United Nations and the African Union (AU).
U.S.-BOTSWANA RELATIONS
The United States considers Botswana an advocate of and a model for stability in Africa and has been a major partner in Botswana's development since its independence. The U.S. Peace Corps returned to Botswana in August 2002 with a focus on HIV/AIDS-related programs after concluding 30 years of more broadly targeted assistance in 1997. Similarly, the USAID phased out a longstanding bilateral partnership with Botswana in 1996, after successful programs emphasizing education, training, entrepreneurship, environmental management, and reproductive health. Botswana, however, continues to benefit along with its neighbors in the region from USAID's Initiative for Southern Africa, now based in Pretoria, and USAID's Southern Africa Global Competitiveness Hub, headquartered in Gaborone. The United States International Board of Broadcasters (IBB) operates a major Voice of America (VOA) relay station in Botswana serving most of the African continent.
In 1995, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) started the BOTUSA Project in collaboration with the Botswana Ministry of Health in order to generate information to improve TB control efforts in Botswana and elsewhere in the face of the TB and HIV/AIDS co-epidemics. Under the 1999 U.S. Government's Leadership and Investment in Fighting an Epidemic (LIFE) Initiative, CDC through the BOTUSA Project has undertaken many projects and has assisted many organizations in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Botswana. Botswana is one of the 15 focus countries for PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, and has received more that $230 million since the program began in January 2004 through September 2007. PEPFAR assistance to Botswana, which totaled $76.2 million in FY 2007, is contributing to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care interventions.
The Governments of Botswana and the United States entered into an agreement in July 2000 to establish an International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Gaborone. The academy, jointly financed, managed and staffed by the two nations, provides training to police and government officials from across the Sub-Saharan region. The academy's permanent campus, in Otse outside of Gaborone, opened March 2003. Over 3,000 law enforcement professionals from Sub-Saharan Africa have received training from ILEA since it began offering classes in 2001.
Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Katherine H. Canavan
Deputy Chief of Mission--Philip R. Drouin
Office of Defense Cooperation--LTC Daniel M. Jones
Centers for Disease Control--Dr. Margarett Davis
International Board of Broadcasters--George Miller
International Law Enforcement Agency--Stan Moran
Peace Corps--Peggy McClure
The U.S. Embassy is on Embassy Drive off Khama Crescent--P.O. Box 90, Gaborone (tel. [phone]; fax [phone]). ODC is located at the embassy. CDC is located on Ditlhakore Way in Gaborone. ILEA is located in Otse, about 30 minutes outside of Gaborone. The IBB station is located in Selebi-Phikwe, about 400 kilometers northeast of Gaborone.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.
For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http: // www.travel.state.gov , where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http: // www.travel.state.gov . For additional information on international travel, see http: // www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml .
The Department of State encourages all U.S citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778). Customer service representatives and operators for TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 7: 00 a.m. to 12: 00 midnight, Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http: //wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled "Health Information for International Travel" (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. [phone].
Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http: // www.state.gov , the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http: // www.osac.gov
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.
STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data
Document STDP000020080117e41g00002

HK paper releases China's white paper on 2007 diplomacy
2,465 words

11 January 2008

06:46 AM

BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

BBCAPP

English

(c) 2008 The British Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved. No material may be reproduced except with the express permission of The British Broadcasting Corporation.
Text of report by Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po website on 9 January
["Wen Wei Po" Forum: "Chapter on Outline of China's Diplomacy Taken out From '2008 White Paper on China's Diplomacy'" - exclusive release authorized by the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Policy Research Department]
In face of the complicated international situation in 2007, China held high the banner of peace, development, and cooperation; persisted in an independent foreign of peace; unswervingly took a peaceful development road; incessantly pursued a mutually beneficial and win-win open strategy; conducted foreign contacts and cooperation in an omnidirectional manner; and made important contributions to promoting a lasting peace, common prosperity, and a harmonious world.
1. Consolidating and Promoting Relations Between Great Countries
China-US relations have on the whole maintained a stable development momentum. President Hu Jintao and President Bush successful met during multilateral meetings in Germany in June and in Australia in September. They reached a series of important consensuses. This has injected a new impetus into China-US relations. The two countries' heads of state conducted several telephone conversations on major issues in a timely manner. The second and third China-US strategic economic dialogues as well as the fourth China-US strategic dialogue were successfully held. The two countries' military relations have continued to improve. US Defence Secretary Gates visited China and the two countries reached a principled consensus on establishing a hotline between the two countries' defence departments. China and the United States have achieved new progress in energy cooperation. They signed an Action Programme on Nuclear Cooperation for Civilian Use. Both sides' exchanges and cooperation in the fields of antiterror, antiproliferation, law enforcement, aviation, science, education, culture, health, and sports as well as on major international and regional issues have achieved positive results. Parliamentary and local contacts have also actively proceeded.
China-Russia strategic cooperative partnership has developed healthily and steadily at a high level. President Hu Jintao and President Putin have met five times. They proposed "five cooperative partners" between China and Russia and set the principles and goals for the second 10-year development in China-Russia strategic cooperative partnership. Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Russia further strengthened both sides' political mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation. The two-year "National Year" activities between China and Russia have successfully concluded and achieved remarkable results. The social basis of the two countries' relations has been further consolidated. The two countries' trade structure has improved. They have conducted close coordination and cooperation in a series of international and regional issues.
On the whole, China-Europe relations have remained good and cooperation in various fields has widened and become more in-depth. Heads of state or government of 14 European countries visited China and the 10th China-Europe leaders' meeting was successfully held. The China-Europe consultation mechanism has continually improved. China-Europe foreign ministers' meetings, the third round of China-Europe strategic dialogue, and the second round of China-Britain strategic dialogue have achieved fruitful results. Both sides' cooperation on major international and regional issues has increased. China-Europe economic and trade cooperation has maintained rapid development. Cooperation in major projects as well as medium-sized and small enterprises' cooperation have achieved positive progress. The European Union has continued to remain China's first largest trade partner. Both sides' cooperation in the fields of energy, environmental protection, education, and culture has achieved new results.
China-Japan relations have further improved on last year's "ice-breaking" basis. Premier Wen Jiabao's successful visit to Japan last year determined the basic component and framework of the two countries' strategic reciprocal relations. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's visit to China at the end of last year promoted China-Japan relations towards further development. Both sides initiated the economic high-level dialogue mechanism and held the first meeting. China-Japan high-level military contacts resumed after 10 years of suspension. Chinese Navy's missile destroyer "Shenzhen" made a port call to Japan. Trade between the two countries has maintained a two-digit increase. Cooperation in the fields of energy and environmental protection has made pragmatic progress. Taking the 35th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations and the Year of Cultural and Sports Exchange as opportunities, the two countries conducted several hundred activities of various kinds, thereby increasing mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries.
2. Deepening Peripheral Good-Neighbourliness and Friendship and Regional Cooperation
Chinese leaders visited the ROK, the Philippines, Singapore, Burma, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan to profoundly promote good-neighbourly and friendly cooperation with the surrounding countries. China and India have maintained the momentum of high-level contacts. Both sides have opened up a hotline between their foreign ministers. China-India trade has vigorously grown. Consultations on defence and security have started. The two countries' coordination on major international and regional issues has increased. The relations between China and Pakistan have developed steadily. China has signed a joint action programme with Thailand on strategic cooperation. It is actively conducting consultations with the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia on strategic cooperation or strategic partnership. These have injected a new momentum into bilateral relations. China has maintained consultations with Japan and India on maritime and boundary issues.
China has taken an active part in regional cooperation. President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao respectively attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit at Bishkek and Tashkent prime ministers' conference. This has helped the member countries to conclude a long-term good-neighbourly and friendly cooperation treaty, which serves as a political and legal basis for the member countries to comprehensively strengthen mutual trust and cooperation. For the first time all the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries successfully conducted a joint antiterror military exercise in Russia. Premier Wen Jiabao twice attended the serial conferences of East Asian leaders, during which he raised a series of proposals and initiatives on cooperation under different frameworks. China and ASEAN signed a Service and Trade Agreement. They speeded up the negotiations on concluding an