16 Jun 2016

The Russian Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Victor Sibilev says the world is besieged with many challenges which need sober and dedicated approach to successfully solve them.

Speaking during a reception to mark Russia National Day in Gaborone, Mr Sibilev said this approach is shared by many, including Russian friends among neighbouring nations, partners within BRICKS, and a lot of other states across the globe, including Africa.

Meanwhile, he said despite current difficulties in relations with the West, Russia is not seeking confrontation. 

He noted that on the contrary, Russia is open to the widest possible cooperation with all the partners who are ready to engage.

Mr Sibilev regretted that though the regime of sanctions illegally imposed upon by certain countries continues, Russia has returned to its developmental track leaving economic recession in the past.

He said this can be illustrated by large-scale projects, such as the construction of a new launching site for space rockets ‘Vostochny’, the creation of an innovative middle-range passenger aircraft MS-21, which surpasses all existing analogues in terms of speed and economy and development of a nuclear engine for interplanetary space flights.    

In the same vein, he said, there is on-going building of a bridge across the Kerch strait to join Russia and Crimea, which he said has been blockaded by the Ukrainian authorities. 

The bridge is going to be a unique engineering structure of 19km long with two-way car and railway traffic at a total cost exceeding US$3 billion.

 He said Russia supports the efforts of African to play the leading role in the development of its own land, intends to broaden its ties with African states, African Union and sub-regional organisations.

He further noted that ties between Russia and Botswana are gradually getting stronger and the two are planning to conclude an agreement on inter-parliamentary cooperation next year. Russia also continues to lend support to Botswana Police Service, mainly through provision of sponsorship for short-term skills development courses and programmes of higher education.

For his part, the Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele paid tribute to the leadership of Russia for the socio-economic strides that it continues to make towards achieving economic prosperity for all the Russian people.

He also noted that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia remains one of the most influential players in the advancement of the global agenda for the attainment of sustainable development. 

In this regard, he said small countries like Botswana continue to count on the support of big economies like Russia in making meaningful contribution towards the maintenance of international peace and security.

“Equally, we will continue to count on Russia’s support in advancing the African position on the reform of the UN Security Council. As Africa, we believe the UN Security Council should be reformed to reflect the realities of today”, he said much to delight of Ambassador Sibilev.      

Mr Makgalemele said Botswana appreciates support that Russia rendered to Botswana over the years. This includes scholarship offers which Russia continues to extend to Batswana in various fields of study. ENDS