RELATIONS WITH THE EU
The European Union and Botswana
The EU and Botswana enjoy long-standing relations of friendship and cooperation. The EU first opened its Delegation office in Gaborone in 1981. Its role was expanded in 1991 following the establishment of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat in Gaborone. Over the years, our relations with Botswana and SADC have grown and now cover political relations, security, development cooperation, economic and trade relations and other areas of mutual interest.
Political Relations
A focus on the death penalty, gender-based violence, rights of the child and LGBTQI+
The EU-Botswana political relations are stable and characterised by frequent alignment at the international level. Botswana is a constructive ally for the EU both in SADC and in Africa as well as at the multilateral level. Our regular political dialogues take on our mutual interest of strengthening our partnership with the aim to assist Botswana to reach its goal of attaining a high-income status. The main issues discussed in the recent dialogues covered political developments in Botswana and the Southern Africa region, the EU’s partnership for economic diversification in Botswana, and human rights.
The EU and its Member States are in favour of public debates on abolishing the death penalty in Botswana. Unfortunately, during the Constitutional Review consultations in 2022, this was not fully addressed despite government having promised to do so. The EU has recommended to government to establish a moratorium as a first step towards the abolition of the death penalty.
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) remains very high with a prevalence rate of 67% according to recent studies despite an improved legal framework. The trend increased during COVID-19 due to lockdowns, school closures, and an increase in unemployment. The Delegation is actively steering gender dialogue in Botswana and has been supporting the fight against GBV through supporting civil society organisations (CSOs) and awareness-raising activities. Other high-level advocacy and visibility events spearheaded by the EU Ambassador have included the First Lady of Botswana and round tables with other woman leaders across various sectors in Botswana.
Economic and Trade Relations
A Prosperous Partnership
Botswana and the EU have long-standing economic and trade relations. Since its start of implementation in 2016, the EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) has been the foundation of a solid trade and investment relationship between the EU and six SADC countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa. Angola has also applied to accede to the EPA, testifying of its continued relevance and attractiveness.
The EU, with its 27 Member States, are Botswana’s second biggest trading partner after South Africa, with the total volume of goods trade amounting to € 1.78 billion in 2022. The trade balance is dominated by Botswana’s exports to the EU, which reached €1.42 billion in 2022. The exports consist overwhelmingly of diamonds (95% of all Botswana exports to the EU in 2022), mainly destined to Belgium. Diversifying Botswana’s exports beyond diamonds remains a key challenge for the EU-Botswana trade relation, similarly as for Botswana’s exports in general. The EU supports the diversification of Botswana’s economy and exports through its cooperation programmes, seeking to help to unlock the full potential of the EPA in terms of further diversification of Botswana’s export basket, as well as the creation of value and supply chains both at the bilateral level as well as at the regional and African continental levels.
As for the EU’s trade with all the six EU-SADC EPA States combined, the EU is their biggest trading partner, with the total goods trade amounting to € 63.42 billion in 2022. The trade balance is positive in favour of the SADC EPA States, with the exports from the six SADC EPA States to the EU totalling € 32.13 billion in 2022.
While its domestic market is small, Botswana has preferential access to regional markets within the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and SADC, as well as international markets via the EU-SADC EPA, the United Kingdom (UK) through its Economic Partnership Agreement with SACU and Mozambique, and the United States through the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA). In February 2023, Botswana ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement. Botswana has also ratified the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement between the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and SADC; the agreement is however not yet in force due to insufficient number of ratifications.
The EU’s share of total foreign direct investment (FDI) in Botswana decreased significantly after the withdrawal of the UK from the EU (Brexit), given that the UK was by far the largest source of FDI in Botswana from the EU. In 2021, the EU27 FDI stock in Botswana amounted to € 0.2 billion. Both sides are keen to enhance the investment relationship, in line with Botswana Government’s strive to increase FDI in the country. The first-ever EU-Botswana Business Forum in October 2023 is an important tool to this end.
The EU’s total FDI stock in the SADC EPA States amounted to € 49 billion in 2021, with 87% of this stock in South Africa.
For information on exporting to the EU, please visit the interactive Access2Markets website: https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/home
For statistics on trade between EU and Botswana and other SADC countries, please see https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/analysis-and-assessment/statistics_en
Note: In early 2023, the EU launched an ex-post evaluation of the EU-SADC EPA. A dedicated website provides relevant information about the evaluation, both in terms of process and outputs, while also providing the opportunity to stakeholders to easily get in contact with the study team. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/south-africa/launch-ex-post-evaluation-eu-sadc-economic-partnership-agreement-website_en
Skills Development
The EU has supported Botswana’s education sector since its independence. The current 2019-2023 Support Programme for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Reforms supports development of the TVET system in Botswana. The programme seeks to address the mismatch between the qualifications produced by the education system and the requirements of the labour market, which inhibits private sector development and job creation in Botswana. The programme is increasing the labour market relevant skills of TVET graduates, strengthening the governance of the TVET system, improving the quality and relevance of its programmes, supporting the introduction of TVET in high schools through the implementation of Multiple Education Pathways, and enhancing the transition to the labour market through gender-sensitive work-based learning opportunities. The EU’s contribution to this effort is a budget support operation accompanied by a capacity-building component.
Biodiversity, Climate Change and Sustainable Energy
Partners in biodiversity and climate protection
The EU supports Botswana in its efforts to preserve its rich wildlife and biodiversity, which are its most important tourist assets as well as global public goods. Supporting conservation efforts goes hand-in-hand with empowering local communities to derive sufficient benefits from the tourism sector.
Since wildlife recognises no borders, the EU also supports a regional approach to conservation through the promotion of cross-border conservation zones and initiatives such as the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area or the Okavango River Basin Commission’s transboundary water and land management efforts.
Botswana’s ecosystems are fragile and vulnerable to the impact of climate change; land degradation and desertification are serious threats. In line with its political commitments in the framework of the international climate agenda, the EU supports Botswana’s efforts to build resilience to the impact of climate change.
Botswana has among the highest solar irradiation levels in the world and a vast solar power potential. At the moment, coal and diesel are virtually the only sources of electricity production in Botswana, which also imports power from South Africa. The EU is poised to back Botswana’s ambitious plans to develop its renewable energy potential in line with its commitments to the Paris Agreement, and to become a net exporter of electricity. The EU has a clear added value in promoting the development of renewable energies based on our know-how, advanced technologies and financing capabilities.
Relations with Civil Society
Freedom of association is enshrined in Botswana’s constitution and the right to operate is recognised once an organisation is legally registered with a relevant statute. The majority of organisations are registered as societies or trusts. The last survey for the Civil Society Organisations Map estimated there were around 6,000 CSOs in the country. Less than 15% of NGOs have national coverage, and the majority of them work in one to three districts. Community-based organisations are by their nature local and their main focus is community-based HIV/AIDS support and natural resource management.
Since the EU Delegation’s establishment in Gaborone in 1981, we have channelled over €20 million to support CSOs in Botswana to help them make a meaningful contribution to national development.
Covid-19 and Humanitarian Assistance
Following the onset of the covid-19 crisis, the EU decided to redirect and expand its portfolio to support the government’s response through the following steps:
- The EU frontloaded the disbursement of €2 million from the TVET budget support programme (see section above on Education and Skills Development) to provide quick economic relief;
- The EU donated €240,000 in protective equipment and medical supplies to the Ministry of Health;
- The EU provided approximately €450,000 in grants to support victims of domestic violence and defend the rights of marginalised groups most affected by the pandemic. Moreover, the EU allocated €2 million from other programmes to support the beef and tourism sectors as part of the economic recovery in the immediate wake of the crisis.
Finally, the EU mobilised €1.95 million from ECHO, our humanitarian agency, to WHO and the Red Cross to address needs in the healthcare sector (capacity building of healthcare personnel, support to testing and contact tracing and vaccine roll-out) and to provide humanitarian assistance to food-insecure communities.