The outgoing Kenyan High Commissioner for Botswana, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to SADC, Her Excellency Ambassador Jean Kimani bade farewell to SADC Executive Secretary, Her Excellency, Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax during a courtesy call to the SADC Secretariat Head office in Gaborone Botswana on the 29th June 2018.
Ambassador Kimani thanked the SADC Executive Secretary for the cordial relations between the two institutions that also accorded the opportunity for integration with the Republic of Kenya and most importantly the Eastern African Community. She underscored that SADC and Kenya have achieved a lot together on issues of regional cooperation, industrialisation agenda, as well as accelerating programmes geared towards strengthen continental integration. She expressed appreciation for the progress made through the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The Executive Secretary of SADC, Her Excellency Dr. Tax wished the Ambassador well in her future endeavours, and thanked her for the good work she has accomplished in nurturing diplomatic relations, trade opportunities and consular services to both the Republic of Botswana and the SADC region. She assured the Ambassador that the two parties will continue to work together in a harmonious manner to maintain her good work and advance relations between SADC and the Kenyan Government further. H.E. Dr. Tax thanked the Government of Kenya for its efforts towards enhancing and boosting intra Africa trade by being one of the 22 countries out of 26 who have now signed ratified the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement.
The COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite will enhance trade and capacities to produce and trade through the tripartite infrastructure and industrialisation programmes and policies between the three Regional Economic Communities (RECs) supported by the three pillars of the Tripartite Free Trade Area, namely: Market Integration, Infrastructure Development and Industrial Development.
The SADC Secretariat further agreed to host the second Kenyan Parliamentarian benchmarking mission, which will form part of information and idea exchange programme, as well as bilateral cooperation between the two institutions.
