22 May 2022

Botswana’s new chancery in Geneva, Switzerland is symbolic of the country’s commitment to multilateralism as a means of pursuing international diplomacy.
Officially opening the chancery Saturday, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi said as Botswana’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva and Switzerland embassy  principal office, it would aid in the country's efforts to build global consensus on various issues facing the world.

Botswana, he said, believed in different states and international organisations engaging in dialogue in order to seamlessly and peacefully address topical world issues.
President Masisi said the state of the art building, which also housed Namibia, Kenya, Ghana and the Philippines chancery offices but each having its own sectional title, was symbolic of Botswana's ethos of international cooperation.

Revealing that he had visited the site before construction of the chancery, the President lauded both the architectural work and Dr Athalia Molokomme’s administration for overseeing the project.Dr Molokomme is Botswana's Permanent Representative to the UN’s Geneva headquarters as well as ambassador to Switzerland.

President Masisi described the envoy as ‘an outstanding public servant and consummate intellectual who is a true representative of the Botswana value proposition to the world’.
 He said the new office would enable the ambassador and the mission to further advance Botswana's interests abroad.

Dr Masisi said as Africa's oldest continuous democracy, Botswana planned to keep promoting the values of peace, human rights and consultation in the international diplomatic space.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Lemogang Kwape also saw the building as a sign of ‘good neighbourliness’.

He explained that it was part of government’s efforts to build mission offices across the world in order to cut rental costs.
Housing Botswana's existing diplomatic mission in Geneva, the chancery links the country's diplomatic efforts with Switzerland and sister European states as well as Geneva-based multilateral organisations including various UN organs such as WHO and UNHCR.

The mission also assists in the coordination of Botswana's links with other Geneva-based organisations such as  WTO, ILO and International Committee of the Red Cross.ENDS