Philda Kereng, High Commissioner of Botswana to Nigeria, has called for deeper trade ties between the two countries.

Ms Kereng made the call while addressing participants during the 58th National Day celebration of the southern African country on Monday night in Abuja.

Botswana attained independence on Sept. 30, 1966.

The high commissioner described Nigeria as a critical partner to Botswana since Oct. 17, 2018, when both countries signed an agreement to deepen cultural and diplomatic relations.

According to her, there is a need for both countries to advance through business cooperation in terms of people-to-people trade.

Ms Kereng said, “I want to see us joining hands to lead the continent of Africa because of the economic strength that both countries have.

“Nigeria has lots of enterprising trade; when Nigerians want to do business, they display resilience against all odds to achieve set targets.

“We are also looking at the creative sector, which is so vibrant.

“We have talented people who are not working but can be developed, so they can enter the film, food, fashion, and music industry, where Nigeria leads.

“We will together use tangible projects and business connections of Nigeria and Botswana to advance business relations and deepen trade cooperation.”

The envoy decried the low-level trade volume between both countries, saying more should be done to build upon economic advantages between them.

“We are looking at opportunities whereby we can get more products from Nigeria, especially creative skills in developing cosmetics and textiles. We also want to trade on such skills and build capacity through them.

“So there is not much we are doing together at the moment to import and export, but we have to cultivate what we have seen as potential.

“Nigerians too can learn from Botswana livestock farming and beef production, often exported to European countries to further develop the nation’s economy.

“We will collaborate on the beef production sector, and Nigeria can invest in training our citizens in the creative sector going forward,” she added.

Speaking in an interview, Humphrey Geiseb, High Commissioner of Namibia to Nigeria and ECOWAS, commended Botswana’s economic growth in the sub-region.

“Botswana is a country with possibly the largest number of diamonds in the world, which is good for Africa.

“We are proud of the feat Botswana has attained,” Mr Geiseb said.

(NAN)