05 May 2025

Vice President and Minister of Finance, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe, has from yesterday, May 5, embarked on a working visit to Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
He is expected to return May 15. In Switzerland, he will deliver a keynote address at the prestigious St. Gallen Symposium under the theme: Shifting Global Power, where he will articulate Botswana's long-term vision for resilience in a changing global landscape.
A press release from the Ministry for State President says while in the United Kingdom, the Vice President will address the Cambridge Africa Together Conference 2025 under the sub-theme; Flames of the Big Four, Shining with Many More. He will also lead a targeted investor roundtable with institutional partners in London, convening high-level executives to explore opportunities in Botswana's financial services sector, renewable energy, critical minerals, and eco-tourism.
The release states that the UK visit is meant to build on the momentum of the high-level official mission to United States, which the VP has successfully concluded.
The highlight of the US visit, the release says, was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Luxembourg, a milestone that lays the groundwork for a strategic collaboration aimed at positioning Botswana as an emerging financial services hub in Africa.
“The partnership will focus on financial sector development, regulatory cooperation, capital market innovation and knowledge exchange, with a long-term vision to attract sustainable investment and diversify Botswana's economy,” reads the media release.
While in the US, the Vice President also represented Botswana at the 2025 IMF and World Bank spring meetings and delivered keynote addresses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and George Washington University, which platforms provided him with a unique opportunity to present Botswana's reform agenda and to reinforce the country's position as a reliable and forward-thinking development partner.
During the mission, Vice President Gaolathe held consultations with global financial institutions and international development partners, including senior leadership from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), OPEC Fund for International Development and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
The release notes that the outcomes of the visit included strengthened engagement with the World Bank and IMF, who reaffirmed their support for Botswana's fiscal consolidation efforts, resilience-building programmes, and structural reforms.
The mission is part of a broader effort to attract impactful investment, deepen regional collaboration, and secure partnerships that drive job creation, economic diversification, and inclusive development at home, the release says. During Vice President Gaolathe's absence, the Assistant Minister of Communications and Innovation, Mr Shawn Nthaile, will serve as Acting Minister of Finance. ENDS