Africa-Press – Angola. The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, returned to Luanda this Saturday, from Botswana, where he carried out a two-day state visit.
At the “4 de Fevereiro” airport, the Angolan Head of State was greeted by the Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança Costa, members of the Executive and senior officials in his office.
In Botswana, the Angolan statesman had a meeting with Mokgweetsi Masisi, having reviewed bilateral cooperation relations.
The meeting of the two heads of state was followed by official talks between the delegations of the two countries, before a joint press conference.
During the press conference, the Angolan statesman said that Angola will rely on Botswana’s experience in the production, processing and marketing of diamonds.
In his speech, João Lourenço highlighted the reforms implemented in the diamond sector in that southern African country and considered an example to be followed by Angola.
In turn, the President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, considered the state visit made to the country by his Angolan counterpart, João Lourenço, to be “historic”.
Mokgweetsi Masisi underlined the fact that President Lourenço’s state visit took place at a time when Angola is preparing to host the next ordinary SADC summit and assume the presidency of this regional organization based in the Tswanese capital, Gaborone.
During the visit, President João Lourenço was honored with a State dinner, an event that marked the end of the visit.
bilateral cooperation
Angola and Botswana established diplomatic relations on February 18, 1976.
In February 2006, the two countries signed a General Cooperation Agreement.
Areas of cooperation
In cooperation between Angola and Botswana, the diamond sector is a priority, along with education, health and the environment.
Botswana is a major producer of diamonds worldwide and Angola seeks the experience of that SADC member country, in extraction and cutting.
Currently, Botswana’s diamond production accounts for around 60 percent of its exports.
On average, between 2002 and 2016, 26 million carats were produced per year, making Botswana the second largest producer of diamonds in the world, behind Russia.
Another important source of income for Botswana is ecotourism. This country has the largest concentration of elephants in the world (more than 50,000).
The country occupies 581,000 square kilometers, 17 percent of which is reserved for national parks. It also has immense virgin savannas.
Located in Southern Africa, the territory of Botswana has no access to the sea and is limited to the North with Zambia, to the East with Zimbabwe, to the South with South Africa, to the West and Northwest with Namibia.
regional integration
Angola and Botswana are members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The two countries are also part of the Okavango/Zambezi project, which also includes Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia, covering a total of 278,000 square kilometres.
The Okavango Basin is a region rich in biodiversity, with more than 400 species of birds, mammals and other animals typical of the African fauna.
Angola has the second largest plot of the project, with 87,000 square kilometers, behind Zambia, with 97,000 square kilometers of land.
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