22 Oct 2015

The Ghanzi-Omaheke cultural festival scheduled for this weekend in Gobabis, Namibia  is expected to strengthen existing bilateral relations between Namibia and Botswana, says Botswana High Commissioner to Namibia Tshenolo Modise.

Modise said this in an interview, explaining that the people especially between the Ghanzi and Omaheke regions in Botswana and Namibia respectively have families along the shared boarder of Gobabis and Mamuno. She noted that the family aspect should be the basis of relations between these two regions among other things. 

Celebrated under the theme, A Celebration of Cultural Partnership, the event will benefit Botswana in various ways including culture, trade as well as tourism. Modise highlighted that the Trans Kalahari Highway Corridor Group will give a presentation on trade promotion during official opening of the event today.

As the Trans Kalahari is a route to Walvis Bay, Modise explained that their interest as a country is in utilising the Walvis Bay port as an alternate route to western market.

Furthermore, Modise noted that the Trans Kalahari highway should not to be seen only as a route but also as a tourism route especially along the way.

Also,  the event aims to promote Setswana cuisine, which according to Modise is of “great interest” among the Namibians. She noted that they will give presentations of some cultural cuisine which Namibians were not familiar with; in addition to the popular seswaa delight. 

The event which is also a part of the build-up events to Botswana’s 50^th anniversary celebrations is a platform for organisations  such as  Botswana Investment and Trade Centre to spread Botswana story since attaining independence. 

Thuso Palai, manager at Brand Botswana International said as a “Nation Brand we strive to promote all that is Botswana, and in this particular case our Culture and Heritage.” He emphasised that  Ghan-Oma Festival avails a platform for Botswana to take its culture across borders. Ends