06 Nov 2022

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi says Botswana plans to explore the Arab world with a view of expanding the market base for the country’s diamonds.

He said this in Gaborone on Friday in a meeting with a special envoy of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,  Mr Ahmed Kattan.

President Masisi said Botswana needed to expand the market for its diamonds which he said were the primary driver of the country’s economy.

 The US and China were currently the main consumers of Botswana diamonds, said Dr Masisi.

Turning to other issues, Dr Masisi said the COVID-19 had emptied the country’s coffers.

In addition to the challenge of sourcing vaccines from other nations, he said anti COVID-19 vaccine campaigns jeopardised the country’s vaccination drive.

However, Dr Masisi said devoted campaigns and the will of the people resulted in a successful campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Botswana’s massive campaign of engaging various stakeholders and the public’s willingness to combat the pandemic resulted in more than 70 per cent of the eligible population  being fully vaccinated, said Dr Masisi.

“We are satisfied with our recovery progress from the pandemic,” he said.

He said Botswana planned to enhance its health sector capacity by producing vaccines for other tropical and challenging diseases.

President Masisi said the country’s quest to eliminate malaria was also a success story.

On polio, he said although the disease was eradicated many years ago, the country remained cautious and continually investigated and engaged surveillance to sniff out any possible outbreak.

President Masisi also spoke about challenges resuling from climate change which he said needed to be addressed amicably in order to transform and grow the world economy.

 He said Mr Kattan’s visit was testimony to the warm relationship between Saudi Arabia and Botswana adding that it was worth continuous strengthening.

Briefing the media after meeting the President, said their  discussions would help enhance relations between the two nations.

The discussions included opening a window for the Saudi Arabia ambassador based in South Africa to visit Botswana and explore investment opportunities and enhance relations between the two countries.

“We are also here to prepare for a Saudi delegation that will visit the country to talk about the golden opportunities available here.

Saudi Arabia will in the near future be hosting the leaders of Africa at the Saudi-Africa summit and the Arab-Africa summit,” said Mr Kattan. Ends