17 Mar 2022

Four envoys, representing Canada, Cote d’Ivoire, Palestine and South Korea yesterday presented credentials to President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi.
Receiving the Canadian  high commissioner, Ms Christina Buchan, who will be based in Zimbabwe, Dr Masisi said Botswana and Canada were closely related by the diamond mining industry.
Canada, he said, had contributed significantly to the development of Botswana’s mining industry.   
He called on Canada, current host of the Kimberly Process secretariat, to support Botswana’s bid to be the next host.   
Responding, Ms Buchan said Canada fully supported Botswana’s bid to host the Kimberly Process secretariat.
Ms Buchan said as it was the case in Botswana, mining was a leading sector in Canada.
“My duty here is to look for more opportunities in the mining sector and other fields with the potential to strengthen our cooperation,” she said adding that her focus would be on exploring more trade and investment opportunities.
She said in the recent past, the two nations engaged in a virtual trade mission which focused on entrepreneurship and women opportunities.
Addressing the Cote d’Ivoire, ambassador Mr Sakaria Kone, Dr Masisi stated that Botswana had deliberately supported the country’s campaign for a seat in the Human Rights Council.
Botswana, he said,  had an opportunity to develop more in the agricultural field and penetrating new markets through Cote d’Ivoire’s support.
He noted that Cote d’Ivoire was leading in exploring agricultural value chains. Currently, the country was leading in processing rubber, coffee and palm oil which provided Botswana with a widely based platform to grow its agricultural sector, Dr Masisi said.
He said Botswana stood to learn a lot from the West African nation in terms of sports development as it was among the continent’s leading footballing nations.
  Dr Masisi therefore appealed to Mr Kone to offer local footballers an opportunity to learn from their counterparts in Cote d’Ivoire.
 Welcoming  the Palestinian ambassador, Mr Tamer Almassri,  Dr Masisi said Palestine must never doubt Botswana’s commitment and support in its quest for liberation.
  He therefore urged Palestine to ensure that Israel adhered to the liberation accord.
Emphasising the need for Botswana and Palestine to strengthen bilateral relations, he called on Mr Almassri to encourage his fellow citizens to come and invest, study and exchange culture with Batswana.
  To the South Korea ambassador, President Masisi said the country’s journey of prosperity was commendable given that it was not endowed with the wealth of natural resources.
The President told Mr Chull-Joo Park that he was therefore looking forward to the two nations strengthening partnerships in among others industrial development.
He appealed to Mr Park to actively focus more on building Batswana’s innovation capacity and assisting them to develop globally competitive companies.  
President Masisi said Botswana had benefited a lot from South Korea in among others advanced technological resources.
In his response, Mr Park said the economic structures of Botswana and South Korea had the potential to develop and strengthen ties.
He revealed that prior to his meeting with President Masisi, he had met with University of Botswana vice chancellor, Professor David Norris on issues of economic success.
Mr Park said his office and UB planned to organise a conference on economic development to mark the two nations’ 35th anniversary of bilateral relations next year.
He promised to use his vast knowledge on international relations and experience in executing his mission in Botswana.ENDS