17 May 2016

Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Mr Kitso Mokaila leaves for Luanda Angola on an official trip to meet his counterpart Jose Maria Botelho De Vasconcelos, who is the Angolan minister of petroleum.

A press release from MMEWR says the minister will leave today  and he is expected back home on May 21^st.It says the visit comes as a follow-up to the state visit made by President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama to Angola in 2015.

The release says the two state presidents discussed a number of issues that were, and still remain of mutual interest to their countries, including issues pertaining to the petroleum sector.

It says the two ministries will be exploring ways and means of bettering trade in the petroleum sector, Angola as is known, is endowed in oil resources and is one of the biggest oil producers in Africa.

The release further states that it is part of Botswana’s strategic intent to forge closer links with countries like Angola, in an effort to ensure security of supply of petroleum products.It says the discussion will cover among other issues, possible sale of crude oil to Botswana for processing and importing into Botswana.

The release says the discussion will also include exploring the investment opportunities in the oil and gas sector, with particular interest in oil refining and appreciating the regulatory framework for both upstream and downstream activities.The minister is accompanied by senior officials from Department of Energy and Botswana Oil Limited. ENDS