03 Jul 2018

The United States of America and Botswana continue to enjoy fruitful and cordial relations which are centered on development of the two nations. 

Speaking during USA 242^nd independence day celebrations recently, US Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Earl Miller said the United States had invested US$950 million over the past 15 years in Botswana through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the country was now close to what was once thought impossible; an AIDS free future for Botswana. 

He also noted that currently, the two nations were working on ‘xciting’ investment opportunities for American and Batswana companies, while on the other hand the military relationship remained stronger with their armed forces continuing to train and learn from each other. 

On education, Ambassador Miller said just recently, another contingent of Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Fellows from Botswana arrived at university campuses across America. 

At the moment, he said, there were 296 Botswana college students studying in America and 266 American students and teachers in Botswana. 

Meanwhile, Acting Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, Mr Machana Shamukuni noted that the occasion afforded Botswana an invaluable opportunity to reflect on bilateral relations between the two countries, which had continued to flourish over the years. 

Mr Shamukuni noted that the relationship had continued to grow from strength to strength in various areas of human development, as demonstrated by the strong cooperation in the areas of education, health, environment, defence and security among others. 

He further appreciated the contribution of the US on programmes such as the Fullbright Foreign Student Fellowship, the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship, the US Embassy Education Initiative and USA Scholars among others. 

He said on matters of conservation, Botswana appreciated the United States of America’s Defending Economic Livelihoods and Threatened Animals Act which was aimed at promoting sustainable economic growth through trans-boundary conservation in the Okavango River Basin. ENDS