English 26
ALANBAA Sunday, 3 November, 2013
Botswana: Building on stability and prosperity
H E Manyupedza P Lesetedi Staff Report A career diplomat with more than 32 years of experience H E Manyupedza P Lesetedi, the Ambassador of Botswana to Kuwait comes across as a man of immense knowledge and wisdom in the world of diplomacy. Having joined the ministry of foreign affairs in Botswana in 1981 soon after graduation, Ambassador Lesetedi has served in many capacities and countries during his tenure as a diplomat. His very first posting was in New York in the United Nations mission and after his three year stint moved on to Belgium, followed by Zimbabwe. Ambassador Lesetedi was also involved in the committee of the peacekeeping operations in Mozambique and returned to the United Nations for another brief 2 year term. He was then posted to China, followed by Ethiopia and then served as director for multilateral affairs back in Botswana before getting his first posting as ambassador to Ethiopia in 2008. In 2010 Ambassador Lesetedi was accredited as the first non-resident Botswana ambassador to Kuwait and later in 2011 became the first resident ambassador to Kuwait. “Our relations with Kuwait are very, very good,” he emphasizes, pointing that relations with Kuwait began soon after Botswana got their independence in 1966.
“We share a similar history like Kuwait as we too were British protectorates and not colonies,” he points out. Ambassador Lesetedi stresses on the important contribution that Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic
Development (KFAED) has made to his country since independence. “They have been very generous and funded so many economic projects from infrastructure to airports and bridges and this signifies the excel-
lent relationship between the two nations.” KFAED’s role has been appreciated and welcomed by Ambassador Lesetedi, they have been true friends in the time of need and many projects have been successfully com-
pleted he points out. The total investments are in excess of tens of millions of dollars. “We are in the process of concluding many sector specific agreements, from air services to avoidance of double taxation,” he stated and indicated that he was also keen to have an agreement in the area of education so that student exchanges could take place. It is evident that Ambassador Lesetedi is exerting a great amount of effort and goodwill to take the relationship forward. Leaving no stone unturned he says “We are also exploring an investment protection agreement and a visa agreement for diplomatic passport holders.” However ambassador Lesetedi feels there is plenty of room for advancing this relationship and is keen to see some high level exchanges during his tenure here. “I would really like to see our leadership visit Kuwait and vice-versa,” he pointed out. Ambassador Lesetedi feels that there needs to be more people to people contact as this is something he says is lacking. “Many Kuwaitis are not fully aware of Botswana, its location and also the great tourism and investment potential, as an embassy we need to market ourselves and bring awareness locally,” he says. Botswana gets almost a million tourists annually, particularly from USA
and Europe and Africa while from the Gulf region it is only marginal, hence Ambassador feels the stake holders such as tourist operators and hotels should get involved in promoting Botswana. Botswana has some amazing Safaris and incredible beauty and the government is very concerned about conservation. Hunting will not be permitted from 2014 hence beauty of the wilderness will be maintained. Commenting on the investment potential, he says there is a huge potential that is lacking the exposure and he is working very closely with the Botswana Investment Trade Centre to promote investment particularly from the private sector. Elaborating on some of the areas where the potential is great he points at glass manufacturing, “We have known reserves of 230 million tonnes of silicon, and also we export around 280,000 tonnes of soda ash per annum,” Botswana is looking to diversify its economy and is heavily dependent on mining and beef exports. It has been one of the largest diamond producers in the world. “Botswana can provide great access to African markets as it is a member of South African Development Community (SADC) and also has a cooperation agreement with European Union and under this agree-
ment exports to EU are duty free,” Ambassador Lesetedi points out. “Kuwait is a very nice place with a lot of diplomatic activity,” he says. Concurrently accredited to Qatar, Ambassador Lesetedi is constantly on the move to promote Botswana and build bridges of friendship with the entire region. Botswana is a landlocked country situated in southern Africa. It borders South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Approximately two-thirds of the country lies within the Tropics. Botswana is a nation of stunning beauty and vastness that has untapped potential of natural resources and is known to have the best wilderness and wildlife areas on the African Continent. More than 38 percent of the total land mass is devoted to national parks, reserves and wildlife management areas. As a nation it is one of Africa’s most stable countries and has the continent’s longest continuous multi-party democracy and is also relatively free of corruption and has a good human rights record.
(in association with “The Times, Kuwait”)
Press Release
EY : a platinum sponsor for the “E-Government Forum
KUWAIT 31 OCTOBER 2013: EY announces that it will be a platinum sponsor for the “E-Government Forum: Recent Trends, Security Risks, and Implementation Challenges” which will be held from 11-13 November in Kuwait. The Forum will host business professionals from international companies and government officials. Held under the patronage
of his highness Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah the Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait, the Forum will be managed by the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) that is mandated with developing the e-government program in Kuwait. Raoul Savastano, Partner, Advisory, EY Kuwait along with Christoph Capellaro Director, Advisory EY Kuwait
will speak about Business continuity at the Forum. Ken Allen, Advisory, EY UK will unveil EY’s Global Information Security Survey results. Senior executives from EY Kuwait will also contribute to the discussion on ‘E-government security challenges and Information & Communications Security solutions and trends.’ Commenting on EY’s spon-
sorship Waleed Al-Osaimi said: “We are very proud to be a part of this Forum. Our sponsorship demonstrates our committed support to help develop and progress national information and communication security in Kuwait. It is crucial to continually enhance operating and security systems and our expertise in this field will help to contribute to the progression of Kuwait’s communi-
cation systems.” The Forum comes at a time where CAIT launched the second phase of the Kuwait government online (KGO) project. KGO represents the official portal of the State of Kuwait and this new phase is aimed at the development of integrated e-services which set Kuwait at par with advanced countries in the e-government readiness index.
Mr. Waleed Al-Osaimi
Cyberspace
Responses to U.S. spying could change structure of the Internet
UPI -- Proposals by Brazil, Germany and India to create separate networks to block U.S. spying could cause a breakup of the Internet, experts warn. NSA spying, as revealed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, has a number of countries scrambling to protect private or commercially sensitive emails and phone records from U.S. and British security services, experts and academics said. Such moves to encourage regional online traf-
fic to be routed locally rather than through the United States are likely to be the first steps in a fundamental shift in the way the Internet works, with the possibility of hindering economic growth, they said. Following reports on the scale of U.S. surveillance, Brazil’s government has announced plans to promote its own networking technology, encourage regional internet traffic to be routed locally and set up a secure national email service. “States may have few other options than to fol-
low in Brazil’s path,” Ian Brown from the Oxford Internet Institute told The Guardian. “This would be expensive, and likely to reduce the rapid rate of innovation that has driven the development of the Internet to date ... But if states cannot trust that their citizens’ personal data -- as well as sensitive commercial and government information -- will not otherwise be swept up in giant surveillance operations, this may be a price they are willing to pay.” Revelations of U.S. spying were pushing the
Internet toward a tipping point that could hugely affect how online communications work, one analyst said. “We are certainly getting pushed towards this cliff and it is a cliff we do not want to go over because if we go over it, I don’t see how we stop,” said Daniel Castro, a senior analyst at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation in Washington. “It is like a run on the bank -- the system we have now works unless everyone decides it doesn’t work, then the whole thing collapses.”