From 1 to 6 April, Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters headed a mission to Southern Africa, where he visited both Malawi and Botswana. Malawi is one of the three partners countries of Government of Flanders in the field of development cooperation. After visits by the minister-president in 2011 to South Africa and Mozambique - Flanders’ other two partners in the south - Malawi was next in line. The visit to Botswana had a political and economic nature and mainly centered on the diamond industry.
The visit to Malawi focused on development cooperation. In Malawi, Flanders operates in the agriculture and health sectors. Together with the Malawi Minister of Agriculture, Mr Peeters paid working visits to projects in the field of forestry, food security and agricultural education. Minister-president Peeters visited a water and sanitation project in the district of Kasungu, which was launched in the framework of the Flemish ‘Music for Life’ campaign by Red Cross Flanders.
On 3 April, minister-president Peeters gave an opening speech to a two-day human rights seminar, during which a dozen countries from Southern Africa reflected on the right to food as a fundamental part of the social and economic rights. From Flanders, both human rights specialist Professor Koen De Feyter (University of Antwerp) and an expert of 11.11.11 took part in this seminar.
In the Malawian capital of Lilongwe, political contacts with the President of Malawi, Ms Joyce Banda, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Economic Planning and Development, and the Minister of Health took place. Minister-president Peeters and Malawian Foreign Minister Ephraim Mganda Chiume on 2 April signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation between Flanders and Malawi in the field of development cooperation. The ceremony took place in the Kamuzu palace in Lilongwe in the presence of president Banda.
During his visit to Botswana, minister-president Peeters was invited by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Botswana to meet the Ministers of Agriculture, Environment and Mineral Resources. On 5 April, the Flanders’ government leader met with Mr Ian Khama, President of Botswana.
The visit to Botswana was mainly centered on the diamond industry. Flanders and Botswana are important partners in the diamond trade: Botswana is the largest producer of rough diamonds in the world, while Antwerp is the most important diamond trading center. On 5 April, minister-president Peeters visited the Orapa diamond mine. With a surface area of about 1.8 by 1.2 km and a depth of over 220 meters, it is one of the largest mines in the world. Mr Peeters was accompanied by the Minister of Natural Minerals, Water and Energy of Botswana, representatives of the Flemish diamond sector, the Secretary-General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Flanders Representative in Pretoria.
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