02 Nov 2026

Botswana is expected to attract increased investment, technology transfer, industrial development and employment opportunities following the elevation of relations with China to a Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, President Advocate Duma Boko has said.

Delivering a keynote address, during the 2026 Botswana-China Friendship Evening  event in Gaborone on October 31, President Boko said his recent state visit to China had opened new opportunities for the country, raising its profile and heightening interest in its tourism, hospitality and investment sectors.

The visit, during which the Botswana delegation met Chinese, President Xi Jinping, business people, entrepreneurs and investors, was exceedingly successful and had strengthened relations between the two countries.

President Boko said the announcement elevating bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership was monumental and had shaped how the Chinese people viewed and related with Botswana.

Additionally, he said the visit had generated significant interest in Botswana, with about 200 million searches recorded across media platforms regarding the country, its tourism and hospitality sectors.

“The increased interest presents an opportunity for Botswana to attract investment, expand trade and establish stronger people-to-people contacts and exchanges,” he said.

President Boko said Botswana had much to learn from China, particularly its development experience, technology, innovation, skills development and work ethic.

He observed that China had, within 40 years, lifted about 800 million people from conditions of abject poverty to levels of affluence, an achievement nothing short of a miracle.

After 58 years as an independent nation, he said Botswana had to confront the reality that it had not performed as expected in its development efforts.

He stressed that the country must learn from nations that had achieved development and find ways of addressing its pressing challenges within the shortest time.

Further, President Boko said Botswana had reached out to China, to learn from its experience and benefit from its skills, expertise, technology and innovation.

He expressed gratitude that the friendship between the two countries would open channels for trade, investment and development, adding that China’s zero-tariff initiative for the African continent would also help open markets for Botswana’s products.

However, President Boko said Botswana needed to improve the quality and volumes of its products to satisfy the needs of international markets.

He encouraged local companies and businesses to collaborate, form coalitions and work together to improve the quality of their products and increase production.

Botswana is strategically located and has an advantage due to its centrality, stability and credible institutions, it can provide a gateway into the African continent.

President Boko further said Botswana needed to move with speed, focus and precision, adding that many projects were expected to take off in the first quarter of 2027, creating opportunities for citizens. He emphasised the need to ensure that Batswana acquired the requisite skills to harness the opportunities and benefit from investment and development.

Botswana-China Friendship Association executive chairperson, Mr Miles Nan, said Botswana must move fast to attract international investors and turn the opportunities opened by President Boko’s state visit to China into action.

Mr Nan said the results of the state visit were already being seen, as the first Chinese business group had visited Botswana last week, just three weeks after the President returned home.

He said countries around the world were competing for investment and investors would not be beaten either, urging Botswana to move fast and make it easier for investors to do business.

“If permits took three months before, Botswana should work towards making it three days. If everything is ready, there was no reason why the process should take longer. We need a new Botswana spirit,” he said.

He said Botswana had the right time, the right place and the right people, adding that what was needed now was action. ENDS