The euphoria that engulfed the business community over the announcement of an extension of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is slowly dying a natural death, as evidenced by the paltry attendance on Monday at a validation workshop of a national response strategy. Attendance by the business community and other stakeholders paled in comparison to multitudes that had turned up in April for an AGOA workshop to kick-start the development of the National Response Strategy. The strategy was developed by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), Business Associations, Civil Society groups and all other Industry representatives, with the support of the USAID Southern African Trade and Investment Hub. Despite the low turnout, US Embassy Economic and Commercial Specialist Goitseone Montsho said they are confident that Botswana will work hard to ensure that common economic objectives between the two countries are met through the programme. She said considering the nine years remaining in the current opportunity, this is achievable, and the sooner this is done the better. She said Botswana is a valued partner to the USA and the latter has committed efforts to support economic growth as essential for the continuity of…