20 Jun 2016

President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama has received letters of credence from the ambassador of Hungary to Botswana, Mr András Király.

Speaking in an interview after presenting his letters of credence to President Khama on June 20, Mr Király said he would be a non-resident ambassador based in Pretoria, South Africa.

Besides Botswana and South Africa, Mr Király said he was also designated as ambassador of Hungary to Mauritius, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

During his one-on-one meeting with President Khama, he said they had an opportunity to talk about the bilateral relations between Botswana and Hungary and how to further strengthen and develop them, adding that there was a significant potential in many areas.

“We agreed that we have a lot of work to do because there is a lot of potential in many issues. 

Botswana and Hungary are far apart, geographically, but are very compatible in certain positions. 

So, we need to identify these positions and work on them,” he said.

“We have also agreed that we have to intensify our political dialogue, but we also want to intensify business and trade relationship,” he added.

Mr Király said he reported to President Khama that he intended to bring over a business delegation to Botswana that would identify common business projects and trade projects that would benefit the people of the two countries. 

Additionally, since the field of education is also of strategic importance to both nations, he said he would also work on educational projects that would benefit Botswana and Hungary.

By its necessity, he said water management would also form part of his agenda. 

Further, to create more opportunities for the two nations, the envoy said another area of interest was Botswana tourism, which he said was one of the biggest initiatives with its richness and diversity.

He said he had an opportunity to visit the Chobe River in Kasane and wanted to have more Hungarian tourists come to Botswana, “because once you come as a tourist, you’ll leave as a businessman, because you’ll realise the different people and business opportunities that exists here.” he said. ENDS