Africa-Press – Botswana. Botswana plans to leverage its partnership with Switzerland, an economic powerhouse with one of the world’s highest per capita incomes, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has said.
Speaking during a state banquet in honour of visiting Swiss President Alain Berset in Gaborone Tuesday, he noted that Switzerland boasted long term monetary security and an economy with highly specialised sectors.
With Botswana gearing up for the implementation of the 2023/25 Transitional National Development Plan with effect from April, it would ‘welcome the active partnership and assistance of Switzerland’, Dr Masisi said.
The President also noted that Switzerland outperformed its peers in the management of the COVID-19 crisis as well as post-pandemic economic recovery and was ranked first in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index.
He said the Declaration of Intent in the Field of Health signed Monday between Botswana and the Swiss Confederation was therefore a major coup.
“Botswana will gain access to targeted and impactful strategic partnerships, including in the areas of patient safety, public health emergencies, access to medical products and effective health systems,” Dr Masisi said.
The President disclosed that the two states were negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the agricultural sector which he hoped would be signed by the end of the year.
“The two countries stand to benefit from trade and investment in various aspects of agriculture, as well as from research and development, digitalization, exchanges on policy and best practice as well as human resource development,” Dr Masisi said.
Another area being explored for possible collaboration, he said, was the formalisation of cooperation in the creative arts sector.
He noted that his Swiss counterpart, together with spouse, Ms Muriel Zeender-Berset, had championed the sector’s development through overseeing the Federal Office of Culture.
Turning to diplomatic issues, President Masisi expressed Botswana’s support for Switzerland’s 2023/24 term in the United Nations Security Council.
He said due to their common value systems, the two nations had maintained a posture seeking a more peaceful and prosperous world.
“The democratic traditions of our two countries are an extremely important feature of the shared values of Switzerland and Botswana. This has naturally been extended to our common commitment to multilateralism, as shown in the initiatives our two countries have undertaken in various international fora,” Dr Masisi said.
In his remarks, President Berset concurred that Botswana shared the same ideals of governance with the Swiss Confederation, which he said had 175 years of continuous democracy.
“The people of Botswana with their democracy share the same principles, of continual debates, consultations, building consensus and the constant search for the right balance between different interests, between tradition and modernity, between individual freedoms and the common good. Grassroots democracy is in the DNA of our people’s identity, as is human rights and respect for the rule of law,” Mr Berset said.
He praised Botswana for handling well the COVID-19 pandemic and the HIV/AIDS crisis before that, saying his country looked forward to forging a stronger partnership with his hosts in health and other sectors.
“I came here to pave the way for us to work together to shape a better world for the next generation. We look forward to learning from your experiences and share ours so we could be better together,” Mr Berset said.
He invited Dr Masisi and First Lady Neo to visit Switzerland.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
