25 Sep 2024

Time is now to invest in Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), which are expected to be home to over 1 billion people by 2060.

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi made the statement during a VIP luncheon on strategic investment in emerging markets on Tuesday at the Permanent Mission of Botswana to the United Nations in New York, United States.

The luncheon was meant to explore investment prospects in LLDCs like Botswana, which have many opportunities.

“This demographic shift is not merely a statistic but a reflection of an evolving landscape rich with opportunities for growth and innovation. These very diverse countries are poised for significant transformation,” said President Masisi, calling on potential investors to invest in LLDCs without delay.

He said Botswana was interlinked with four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, which provided alternative routes and broad access to regional markets for trade and investments.

Moreover, he said LLDCs were, by necessity, very good at connectivity and economic integration, making investment worthwhile.

According to President Masisi, jurisdictions such as Botswana and fellow LLDCs were pregnant with opportunities in many areas, including digitalization and conservation spaces.

He therefore invited interested parties to participate in the third United Nations LLDCs conference, which is expected to attract over 4 000 participants from across the globe. The conference  will take place in Gaborone, from December 10 to 13 this year.

The High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, Ms Rabab Fatima, praised President Masisi for agreeing to host the December conference and said the luncheon provided a platform to start partnerships and explore possible investment opportunities.

She said LLDCs, with a current population of over 590 million, which is about seven per cent of the world’s population and expected to balloon to 1 billion by 2060, had huge investment opportunities in education and skills development.

Not only that, Ms Fatima said, the food production space was yet another low hanging fruit to invest in as LLDCs currently import over US$38 billion of food and US$224 billion of manufactured goods annually, all of which she reiterated were huge investment potentials worth exploring and exploiting for long-term returns.

Also, she said investment in infrastructure development for LLDCs remained another untapped area.

She reminded everyone that LLDCs could become forces driving growth with the right infrastructure and technological support.

Most investors who represented goods and services multinational companies showed interest in coming to Botswana to set up companies and showed keen interest in attending the United Nations LLDCs conference as per President Masisi’s invitation.

Wrapping up the VIP luncheon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Lemogang Kwape concurred and spelt out the immense potential LLDCs had. ENDS