19 Jul 2018

President Mokgweetsi Masisi on July 19 received letters of credence from three envoys accredited to Botswana on a non-residential basis.

Messrs Rene Cremonese, Ghorm Said Malhan and Liam MacGabhann represent Canada, Saudi Arabia and Ireland respectively.

Upon presentation, High Commissioner Cremonese expressed delight over the outstanding bilateral relations existing between Botswana and Canada saying he was looking forward to deepening the relationship.

 He said Canada had mining and energy interests and that he was mandated to see how best the two countries could benefit from the sectors to improve their respective economies and create employment for their citizens.

 “Both countries have similar challenges regarding youth unemployment and the mining sector holds prospects to remedy such dilemma. Therefore Canada is willing to render technical cognizance on how the energy sector can create employment,” he said.

He said the shared values that both countries prided themselves in will come in handy in finding common ground to address issues of interest between the two countries.

Irish envoy Mr  MacGabhann stated that his country highly valued its relationship with Botswana and regarded her as a special friend in the region despite the geographical separation.

He said there were viable opportunities to enhance mutual knowledge and understanding between the two countries through the establishment of political consultations as well as through bilateral cooperation.

The relationship, he noted, was built on Commonwealth bonds, cooperation in international organisations such as the United Nations as well as a shared commitment to democracy, respect for human rights, peace and security, economic and social development together with an international trade system benefiting all countries.

 He said Ireland had been instrumental in contributing to Botswana’s education system which dated back to the historic Christian missionary days.  

Irish missionaries, he said, did not only exchange Christian values with Batswana during colonial times but also shared valuable educational materials that improved Batswana’s literacy.

For his part, Saudi Arabia envoy Mr Malhan said the presentation of the letters of credence was a clear testimony of the good relations between Botswana and Saudi Arabia. 

As a way of strengthening the relationship, Mr Malhan said his country had funded the refurbishment of the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport as well as an engineering and electricity project.

 He said his country would also consider investing in the business sectors which would benefit both countries.

 High Commissioner Malhan praised Botswana for an impressive performance in respect of the rule of law describing the counry as one of the success stories of visionary leadership in Africa.

Both the Ireland and Saudi Arabia envoys are based in South Africa while their Canadian counterpart is based in Zimbabwe. ENDS