09 Jul 2017

United States of America Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Earl Miller last week opened his home to multitudes of high ranking officials to celebrate America’s 241^st independence.

The celebration, which should have been held on July, 4 was postponed to July 6 to honour the late second president of Botswana, Sir Ketumile Masire.

Speaking at the anniversary, which Mr Miller said was dedicated to Sir Ketumile, he said “the celebration honours the life and legacy of a great man and the principles that he stood for and lived for as founding father of Botswana.”

He said as America celebrated 241 years of independence, it had enjoyed cordial bilateral relations with Botswana since 1966 based on strong democratic ideals.

He noted that military relations have also flourished as the armed forces of the two countries continued to train and learn from each other.

Ambassador Miller also noted that the relations of the two countries were further deepened by former US president, Mr George W. Bush and Ms Laura Bush’s visit to Botswana to witness how life saving programmes were operating in Botswana.

He cited the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR and the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon campaign that fights cervical cancer which was the leading cause of death among women in Botswana. Other American initiatives to contribute to development, he said, were the Young African Leaders initiative Fellows Programme which has helped many young people as well as the Peace Corps Volunteers who were spread countrywide.

For his part, deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation, Mr Thuso Ramodimoosi said Botswana has enjoyed strong bilateral relations with America and remains committed to working closely to find sustainable solutions to the current global challenges.

He noted that America has over the years assisted Botswana in the fight against HIV/AIDS, defence cooperation, trade and investment, law enforcement, poverty eradication, capacity building and development of leadership skills among the youth, environmental conservation and wildlife management as well as cultural promotion.

For her part, the daughter of the late Sir Ketumile, Ms Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba thanked Ambassador Miller for finding it fit to honour her father. She said her father, who was an educationist, had been instrumental in forming formidable collaborations with American institutions.

She thanked the American Embassy in Botswana for recognising her father as a pioneer in the development of Botswana’s democracy by dedicating their 241^st independence celebrations to him. ENDS