04 Jun 2014

Three envoys from Lesotho, Cyprus and Greece, all based in Pretoria South Africa, on Tuesday June 3 presented their letters of credence to President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama.

Lesotho’s High Commissioner, Ms Malejaka Letooane, Cyprus High Commissioner Mr Petors Nacouzis and Ambassador, Ms Maria Diamantopoulou of Greece.

The three envoys told President Khama of their will to continue working towards strengthening the existing relations between their countries and Botswana.

They commended Botswana for its stable economy which has developed to a middle income nation as well as its stable and mature democracy.

In an interview after the presentations, Ms Letooane said Botswana and Lesotho have always had good working relations as they both share similar culture, traditions and beginnings.

Ms Letooane said the two countries also enjoy the same bilateral relations within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and African Union, where they relate well in terms of economy and development.

She highlighted that the Lesotho government through its Polihadi dam, intends to explore the possibilities of shared water resources with Botswana.

For his part, the Cyprus High Commissioner to Botswana, Mr Nacouzis said it was important for Botswana and his country to find fields of collaboration as well as to start improving on their bilateral relations.

“I am looking forward to working hard during my tenure to improve the relations that exist between our two countries,” he said.

Mr Nacouzis said he has also proposed to President Khama for the two countries to create a frame work for working together closely.

Ambassador Diamantopoulou said the two countries have excellent political and economic relations and have been working together closely on tightening their economic ties.

She said her country is looking forward to promoting trade relations especially in common areas of tourism and construction industry.

The Greece Ambassador to Botswana highlighted that Greece has a very strong community present in Botswana and has always been visible in community developments across the country.

She said her government has also done well during the economic meltdown as it emerged stronger from the crisis and was willing to share its experience with Botswana for future reference. Ends