03 Aug 2025

Botswana and Zambia have taken significant steps toward building a buoyant, resilient, united, and proud Africa.

President Advocate Duma Boko said on Friday during a state banquet in Lusaka, Zambia, where he was on a two-day state visit.

“And so we met in Lusaka today to reaffirm, deepen, and broaden the relationship between Botswana and Zambia,” President Boko said after an event that wrapped up the day’s business, which included the inaugural Botswana-Zambia Bi-National Commission and the signing of two memoranda of understanding.

He said that for too long, Africa had been humiliated, and it was time to move forward from years of devastation.Hence, the President emphasised that the relationship between Botswana and Zambia must translate into concrete deliverables and transform the lives and livelihoods of the people in both countries.

Zambian president, Mr Hakainde Hichilema commended the establishment of the Bi-National Commission, describing it as an upgrade of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.He said the desire was to deepen partnerships between people to people, business to business, and government-to-government, and some cases crisscrossing these segments into joint projects.

He noted that both countries were working together in the economic arena, trade, and investment, given the rapidly changing world.

Mr Hichilema said the fragility in the global community necessitated that neighbors and sisterly countries like Botswana and Zambia work together even more deeply and broadly.The Bi-National Commission, he said, was intended to build upon the foundations laid by the forebears of the two nations.

Mr Hichilema also highlighted the significance of the Kazungula Bridge, which had contributed substantially to trade and mobility between the two countries.

The two countries intend to deepen the value around this asset, exploring opportunities beyond just motor vehicle traffic, including a potential rail link.

Furthermore, Mr Hichilema mentioned that the two countries would engage in a triangular partnership with Namibia.

In their quest for development, he said peace, security, and stability were paramount.Noting that if Botswana and Zambia were peaceful, they would contribute to peace and stability in the SADC region, on the continent of Africa, and globally.President Boko’s two-day state visit to Lusaka concluded with a renewed commitment to strengthening the relationship between Botswana and Zambia. ENDS