18 Sep 2018

After a four-year tour of duty as the ambassador of the United States of America in Botswana, Mr Earl Miller on September 17 paid a courtesy call on President Mokgweetsi Masisi to bid him farewell.

After a private conversation with the President, Mr Miller expressed, in an interview, his gratitude to Botswana for the cordial working relationship he had experienced as an envoy in the country.

“I first worked in Botswana for a three-year period between 1995 and 1998, and now I have just completed a further four years from 2014 until this year. Now as I leave after a total of seven years in the country I feel emotional leaving a country that has impacted on me personally.  

The people here have great warmth and humility and treat people with kindness irrespective of the title one holds within society,” Mr Miller said.

He said that over the years he had noticed the country improve its economic standing, but what had impressed him the most was how constant the people positive reception towards others had remained.

“Over time between my two stays in the country I have witnessed infrastructure development and the expansion of the middle class; but I have also noticed how Botswana remains the same, the people are highly gracious and treated us as privileged guests,” Mr Miller noted.

The American envoy said he was happy that during his diplomatic stay he had also worked on strengthening the already solid bilateral ties between Botswana and the US.

“We have had visits from former President George Bush and we have had Congressional visits. Our two countries have continued to work on combating HIV/AIDS, one area I can say has been a success story. If I had to remember 20 years ago when I first lived here, there were funerals every weekend as people succumbed to HIV/AIDS, but we have managed to work on treatment programmes that have saved lives," Mr Miller stated.

He further said that even with the change in presidential leadership in both Botswana and the US with President Donald Trump coming into office in January 2017, and President Masisi being sworn in last April, relations between the two country remained constant. ENDS