15 Aug 2019

Botswana and Angola are to kick start preparatory work for a joint permanent commission of cooperation (JPCC) between the two countries, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has said.

He was speaking in Angola on August 14 during a working visit he had undertaken to the country.

President Masisi said the preparatory work would deal with immediate issues affecting the two countries.

Dr Masisi expressed  delight for having interacted with his Angolan counterpart President João Lourenço.on a wide range of issues aimed at enhancing bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of Batswana and Angolans.

“We engaged in official talks on a wide range of issues that affect Botswana and Angola,” he said.

The President noted that  Botswana and Angola both mined diamonds, were developing countries and members of the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC) and shared a trans-boundary that formed Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA).

KAZA is situated in a part of southern Africa where the borders of five countries - Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and Zambia, converge.

President Masisi said the visit also provided a platform for discussions on the position of southern African countries with respect to issues that would be presented at the upcoming Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) slated for Geneva.

President Masisi was accompanied by ministers Mr Nonofo Molefhi, Mr Shaw Kgathi and Mr Kitso Mokaila for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Defence, Justice and Security and Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism respectively as well as other  senior government officials. Ends