The new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Botswana, His Excellency Mr. Zhao Yanbo presented his Letter of Credence to the SADC Executive Secretary, Her Excellency Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax on 28th February 2017.
H.E. Mr. Yanbo commended SADC for the key role it plays in promoting regional integration, and ensuring peace and security in the Region. He noted that the SADC region remains one of the most peaceful and politically stable regions. H.E. Mr. Yanbo pledged to maintain the strong partnership that exists between SADC and the People’s Republic of China. He also noted that trade volume between China and SADC countries exceeded U$100 billion in 2016. He emphasized the need to entrench the cooperation between China and SADC.
Dr. Tax congratulated H.E. Mr. Yanbo for his appointment as Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Botswana and SADC, and thanked the People’s Republic of China for their continued cooperation with SADC and its Member States. She reaffirmed the need to finalise the Draft Framework Agreement on Economy, Trade, Investment and Technical Cooperation between the Southern African Development Community and the Government of the People’s Republic of China in order to facilitate effective operationalisation of the Johannesburg Action Plan of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). She expressed optimism that the framework will bring tangible development projects and activities to the region.
The two parties committed to strengthen their collaboration in areas of mutual interest.
