Africa-Press – Botswana. President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi wedensday welcomed three additions to the diplomatic corps representing Mozambique, Turkey and Japan.
Presenting his letters of credence, Mozambican High commisisoner, Mr Antonio Macheve applauded Botswana for taking the lead on issues of concern both regionally and internationally.
He said under the stewardship of President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, Botswana and fellow SADC countries came together and organised a peace keeping mission to calm the situation at Mozambique.
Mr Macheve noted the idea of establishing SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) was hatched at a time when President Masisi was at the helm of the organisation’s defence and security organ.
“We are grateful for your support and stay positive that peace will be restored in Mozambique,” he said and condoled the nation and families that lost loved ones who were part of SAMIM.
Mr Macheve congratulated Botswana for maintaining a positive trend on the international stage as witnessed by assuming the Secretariat of the Kimberly process, hosting the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services in Africa (CISSA) conference and ascending to its chairmanship, as well as the first state visit by the President of Switzerland.
In addition, Botswana was preparing for hosting the US-Africa business summit in June.
“We are open to work with Botswana to make the summit a success,” he said.
Responding, President Masisi has said Botswana would continue supporting Mozambique on both the regional and international space.
He urged the Mozambique envoy to engage with various ministries, exploit and explore avenues for expanding and extending bilateral relations between the two nations.
“Promote personal relations, explore opportunities in tourism,” he said.
Addressing Turkish ambassador Mr Ahmet Idem Akay, President Masisi expressed deepest condolences to Turkey following the recent earthquake that claimed many lives and destroyed property.
He said he was hopeful that the Turkish nation would recover despite the challenges brought about by the disaster..
Dr Masisi said he was inspired by how Turkey had organised its people to thrive and make a living.
“Your tourism is exceptional, we must deepen our trade relations, explore areas of cooperation on the technological and services space, as well as air transport. Your ability to manufacture boats and ships is second to none,” he said.
The President said Botswana was also interested in expanding its relations with Turkey to cover the agricultural spectrum.
He noted that Turkey was well known for Anatolian shepherd dogs revealing that some had ventured into breeding them locally.
President Masisi informed the Turkish envoy that one of Botswana’s economic diversification initiatives, the Reset Agenda, had prioritised among others value chain development.
He therefore appealed to Mr Akay to look for business partners to collaborate with and help fast-track the country’s economic growth endeavours.
The President revealed that Botswana was interested in opening embassies across the world including in Turkey and Russia.
Dr Masisi acknowledged the positive role Turkey had played in facilitating the delivery of grain amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The President said though Botswana was not in support of the war, Russia remained a friend in the area of bilateral cooperation.
In his turn, Mr Akay described the recent earthquake as one of the worst natural disasters to hit Turkey explaining that the country had suffered a similar disaster in 1999 where more than 18 000 people lost their lives.
He said the current situation had not only resulted in loss of life but had left many wounded and misplaced and as a result Turkey had appealed for international assistance.
Many countries, he said, had already responded as emergency and search teams from all over the world were on the ground assisting in the affected locations.
Mr Akay emphasised the need for Botswana and Turkey to grow and prolong their relations and expressed the hope that the country would open an embassy in Turkey.
Receiving letters of credence from Japanese ambassador, Mr Omori Setsuo, Dr Masisi thanked Japan for extending support to Botswana in areas such as technology.
He noted that Botswana had adopted Japanese television standards in migrating from analogue to digital technology.
Dr Masisi said the country planned to learn from and mimic Japan in the fields of education and technology.
“We are determined to become a knowledge based society and therefore we want to use the resources that we have to transition,” said Dr Masisi.
In the automobile space, Dr Masisi said the Japanese Toyota model was among the most dominant in Botswana.
Mr Setsuo said his mission was to expand relations between Botswana and Japan.
He applauded Botswana for maintaining peace and avoiding internal fights.
Mr Setsuo invited Botswana to participate in the Osaka Expo 2025.
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