05 Oct 2026

President Advocate Duma Boko has affirmed Botswana’s support to Madagascar in restoring political and economic stability.

In welcoming President of Madagascar, Colonel Michael Randrianirina who was on a two day working visit to Botswana, President Boko said Botswana was committed to supporting Madagascar in all the regional and other fora, so that its restoration overseen by SADC, delivered the envisioned outcomes. The is emerging from a sustained period of political turmoil.

President Boko said it was commendable that Madagascar had attained some level of stability and continued to normalise, enabling the people to rebuild the country and its economy.

This, he said would enable the nation to restore confidence in its governance and institutions toward economic empowerment of the people.

He said the move would allow the country to address basic and pressing challenges that afflicted its population.

President Boko said he was aware of the dialogue taking place amongst the people of Madagascar, with a view to finding a way of achieving the level of harmony required to sustain the process of reform and restoration.

“We have been very fortunate to begin this journey with the people of Madagascar, and we are confident that Madagascar will now cast away the image of instability and endemic poverty. The country will now grow, its economy will be stronger, and its mineral resources will benefit its people. We will no longer have a spectacle where, on international indicators, Madagascar gold is trading, while the country within is not recording even the slightest benefit from its mineral resources, especially its vast gold deposits,” President Boko said.

As a show of deep brotherhood between the two countries, and in order to cement the collaboration, President Boko stated that Botswana would also remove all visa requirements for the people of Madagascar.

He expressed confident that this would enable free movement, air connectivity, and all manner of other commercial activity between the two nations.

President Boko also indicated the need for the two countries to strengthen their economic ties adding that efforts in that regard had already started.

He said there were enormous opportunities in mining, mineral beneficiation and as such, the two nations had committed themselves to collaborating actively.

He indicated that the collaboration would entail the deployment of personnel, experts, mining engineers and geologists to work in Madagascar, to ensure that the county made the best use of its mineral wealth, while also providing skill transfer to the locals.

President Boko said Botswana was also keen on cooperation in tourism, agriculture and other economic aspects.

Furthermore, Col Randrianirina commended Botswana’s democratic dispensation which he said was symbolic of good governance, political stability and the rule of law which the country was renowned of since post colonialism.

He said it was important for the countries to strength bilateral relations with the intent to further strengthening relations across key areas of mutual interest that contributed to improving the socio- economic well-being of the people of both Botswana and Madagascar. ENDS