13 Jun 2023

Russia remains a supportive partner in Botswana’s development, deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Clifford Maribe, has said.

Mr Maribe said this at the Russian Federation national day celebrations in Gaborone on Monday.

He said Botswana appreciated all the assistance that Russia rendered to it ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1970.

“We are happy to note that our relations have deepened and widened in scope to cover various fields such as education, health, law enforcement and tourism,” he said.

He also said he appreciated the assistance that Russia had extended to Botswana during the COVID 19 pandemic, saying that it demonstrated that Russia was a partner to rely on in times of need.

Another notable development in the bilateral cooperation between the two nations, he said, was the VISA Abolition Agreement signed in June 2021.

“This demonstrated the commitment the two countries shared in facilitating movement of their citizens,” he added. “It will also help in promoting mutual understanding and strengthening the strong bonds of friendship that exist between us.”

He also said Botswana continued to get support from Russia towards hosting the Kimberly Process Secretariat.

“Botswana is ready to work with Russia and other members to ensure that the secretariat becomes operational and effectively delivered its mandate,” he said.

Mr Maribe expressed government’s wish that a resolution be found for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, especially that Botswana believed in multilateralism and an interdependent world where the international community members needed each other to deal with challenges such as climate change and pandemics.

For his part, Russian Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Andrey Kemarskiy said his country always paid special attention to its relations with African nations ever since the liberation struggle days when it supported them in their fight for independence.

Mr Kemarskiy said with more strengthening of relations between the two countries, they were expecting additional opportunities for development to open up.
“As genuine friends, were are developing this cooperation along the lines of equity, observance of international law and non-interference in the internal affairs of each other,” he said.

He therefore appreciated African nations that had lived to non-interference practice in its internal affairs and resisted from being drawn into anti-Russia campaigns and instead held a balanced view position on the European security crisis.

Further, he said, he was happy that Botswana and Russia continued to interact in international fora such as the UN and its institutions.

“The two nations also have space for interaction in areas such as education, mining, energy and transport among others, and that their leading positions in the diamond industry created further conditions for fruitful cooperation in the multilateral framework of the Kimberly Process,” he said.

He added that for more than 50 years ever since Russia and Botswana signed bilateral relations, they had signed various agreements on education and were further working on more agreements to address others areas of mutual interest. ENDS