11 Aug 2015

Botswana and China yesterday signed the Implementation Programme for 2015 – 2017 under the Agreement On Cultural Cooperation.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister of Youth Sport and Culture Mr Thapelo Olopeng said since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Botswana and China in January 1975, the level of the two states’ cultural diplomacy has grown exponentially over the years.

This, he said has been driven by the broader Sino-African relations framework known as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).Mr Olopeng reiterated that cultural exchanges are of great importance to enrich the bilateral relations between countries, adding that China and Botswana signed the agreement on Cultural Cooperation in 1991, and the agreement has been the basis for the two countries’ cultural interactions.

“Since the signing of the agreement, cultural delegations, performing art troupes and exhibition groups have visited each other and gave splendid performances. This has strengthened the bonds of friendship between our people”, he said.

Furthermore, the minister said over the past two years his ministry has actively been involved in cultural exchange activities with China.

He said in 2013, four young Batswana women-artists spent a month in China undergoing training on Chinese hand-silk embroidery and earlier this year in celebrating the two countries’ 40 ^th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Botswana took a visual art and craft exhibition and a traditional performing arts group called Re Tlaa Re Ke Dipitse to China.

According to Mr Olopeng, his ministry has benefitted from the Chinese technical assistance which has resulted in the construction of the Gaborone Multi-Purpose Youth Centre.

“Furthermore, my government is grateful for China’s friendly assistance in the formation of the Confucius Institute at the University of Botswana as the institute promotes cultural exchange, Chinese history and language,” he said.

He said such social development initiative and people-to-people exchanges have improved relations between the two governments and its people.

He continued to say his ministry will continue to work with their Chinese counterparts to ensure that this relationship grows stronger through the implementation of the program about to be signed.

Mr Olopeng further said he believed that Botswana still has a lot to learn from China in the areas of preservation and promotion of culture and heritage and that China has a well-developed cultural tourism sector which Botswana can benefit from, therefore as a country it is important to gain economic benefits from our culture and heritage.

“With the signing of this implementation programme today, we re-affirm, enhance and indeed confirm that we are still in concert with our Chinese friends in implementing the ideals of the cultural cooperation signed between the two governments on September 20, 1991 in Beijing, “ he said.

The acting ambassador of China, Mr Li Nan said this year will be the 40 ^th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

He said in the past four decades the bilateral relationship has been developing faster and smoothly adding that cultural exchange is an  important area of this relationship.

Mr Lin said the signing of the documents is the implementation plan of the cultural agreement which already exists between the two countries which was signed in 1991. ENDS