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Lovemore Chikova Assistant Editor
The Bi-National Commission (BNC) between Zimbabwe and Botswana taking place in Harare will help move the neighbouring countries’ relations to a new level of mutual benefit.

The fact that this meeting is taking place at this moment reflects on the commitment of both President Mnangagwa and Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi to uplift the lives of people of both countries.

The significance of the BNC becomes even more noticeable, considering that the two countries are coming from a bad patch of relations characterised by frost relations between their former leaders.

It was a matter of fact that former Zimbabwean president Mr Robert Mugabe and former Botswana President Ian Khama did not see eye to eye, and were constantly at loggerheads over various issues.

This kind of relationship was not beneficial to the people of both countries, especially when strategic cooperation was the most viable solution.

Now, the coming of President Masisi to Zimbabwe for this important BNC meeting should not be taken lightly for several reasons.

Gone are the days when developing countries can continue to hope that all their developing needs can be fulfilled entirely by Western countries, who already have their own interests that are at variance with the expectations of other countries.

In fact, much of the problems being faced by the developing countries are partly blamed on the prescriptions from the West, which have exacerbated the suffering of people in the developing South.

This is why President Mnangagwa and President Masisi should be commended for charting a new way forward that pushes for regional cooperation, starting with bi-national collaboration in different areas of economic development.

It is important in the Zimbabwe-Botswana relations that President Masisi has taken a stance to go beyond offering political support, to include cooperation. With this stance, Zimbabwe and Botswana can achieve inclusive growth that helps further their diplomatic ties and bring happiness to people of both countries.

When countries cooperate at both the political and economic levels, they are giving their citizens and opportunity to learn best practices from each other.

This is why there has been a lot of vibe on the BNC meetings and the expected outcomes that would be of national interest for both countries.

Cross-border cooperation is important in that it allows the cross-pollination of ideas and facilitates the exchange of knowledge in different spheres.

As a result of the BNC meeting, it is expected that Zimbabwe and Botswana businesspeople will start finding each other in an effort to enlarge their markets. The cooperation between the two countries revives the cherished days of the Frontline States, when countries in the region sacrificed for each other in a bid to do away with colonialism.

Botswana was a strong member of the Frontline States, that was established by independent Southern African countries in 1975.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo (right) and his co-chair Botswana Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation Dr Unity Dow, address delegates at the Zimbabwe-Botswana Bi-National Commission meeting in Harare yesterday

The Frontline States provided diplomatic, material, logistical and political support to liberation movements in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, countries that were fighting for their freedom. It was this cooperation that helped win the wars in these countries.

President Masisi is simply taking lessons from history and applying the same cooperation model that won the liberation wars to the economic sphere, and soon the results will be there for all to see.

In fact, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) came out of this earlier cooperation among the Frontline States, and that the regional body has stood the test of time is testimony to the importance of neighbouring countries working together.

So, what President Mnangagwa and President Masisi are doing is just going back to the basics by ensuring that cooperation between the two countries has a new focus.

Both Presidents have made it clear that they will not concentrate on political rhetoric, rather will work hard to institute economic reforms for the benefit of the people. While they both acknowledge the importance of ideology, they are determined to ensure that their ideological beliefs are in sync with the developmental agendas of their countries.

The arrival of President Masisi in Harare yesterday for the BNC meeting was a huge diplomatic gesture that will bind Zimbabwe and Botswana for many years to come.

Government ministers and officials from both countries have been meeting to finalise the agreements under the BNC, and President Mnangagwa and President Masisi are expected to oversee the signing ceremony.

In doing so, the two countries will be pursuing a common purpose that benefits people from both sides.

This is because the BNC will help Zimbabwe operationalise the Transitional Stablisation Programme (TSP) that anchors its economic reform agenda.

With support from neighbours like Botswana, there is no way the TSP provisions will fail to turnaround the economic fortunes of Zimbabwe.

What speaks volumes about this cooperation is that President Mnangagwa has already been to Gaborone, where further ways of cooperation between the two countries were discussed. This signified a new narrative that would determine relations between the two countries, a departure from the past politics of antagonism of the last few decades. A Joint Permanent Commission that existed between the two countries had long died a natural death due to the frost relations, and the coming in of President Mnangagwa saw this being elevated to the more prestigious Bi-National Commission.

This marked the beginning of a new era in relations between Zimbabwe and Botswana, which is now being enhanced through the BNC, a commission that will anchor all future interactions between the two countries.