22 Nov 2018

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi says the long standing relationship between Botswana and Germany is an indication that the two are partners who cherish and value one another.

Addressing a joint media session with German president Mr Frank Walter-Steinmeier on November 22, Dr Masisi said the purpose of the visit was to solidify and broaden the relationship between the two countries which had been in existence for a long time.

“President Steinmeier comes with a significant and powerful delegation from both government and private sector, a delegation which is appropriately put together spanning from the art, business ready to engage us here in matters that relate to our projects in our bilateral cooperation from technical education, conservation, energy supply to our diplomatic political relation,” he said.

President Masisi said they exchanged views on Botswana‘s relations with its neighbours and on ways of promoting values shared between Botswana and Germany within the region.

He said they had an opportunity to engage on official talks together with ministers in matters relating to cooperation primarily on the trade and energy sectors.

For his part, Mr Steinmeier said the visit provided an opportunity to underline the importance that the two countries attached to each other.

“We Germans might be living far geographically but we closely monitor developments on events here in Botswana. We are very much delighted to take note that in contrast to many other African nations Botswana has succeeded for many years now to hand over power peacefully from one president to the other. When we look at other nations in Africa this is always a debate on whether one should extend tenure of presidency which is limited by constitution and in other nations we see domestic conflict. Botswana is different,” he said.

President Steinmeier said he was impressed by Botswana’s rich flora and fauna and pledged support to preserve and protect the country’s beautiful nature.

“We should not only refer to tourism, we need to focus also on setting the right course for the future. The extraction of natural resources makes a significant contribution to the success of private companies, which contribute to securing public finances. Germany will assist Botswana in securing paths to economic diversification and the recent visit by the federal minister of development and cooperation is testimony to our commitment and willingness to support,” he said.

Botswana and Germany established diplomatic relations in 1966. Over the years the two countries have collaborated in various fields such as education, environment, tourism, water, energy, trade and investment.

Botswana opened a resident diplomatic mission in Berlin in September 2013. ENDS