Africa-Press – Botswana. Botswana and Lesotho are proud of their affinities that have nurtured the two nations’ diplomatic ties over the years, President Advocate Duma Boko has said.
He said this during a state banquet to honour his three-day working visit to Lesotho by King Letsie III.
President Boko further said Batswana were grateful that the relations between the two nations had endured up to this day.
“We are committed to ensuring that this relations abides into the future,” he said.
While he acknowledged that the relations were not as robust and strong as it should had been, the President said his visit was befitting for him to rekindle and reaffirm the relationship by participating in the signing of the Bi-National Commission (BNC).
“This BNC will now enable us to engage in a formal and more structured way toward the development of our nations,” he said.
President Boko said there was a lot that Botswana and Lesotho could do together, and used the opportunity to call upon the King and Queen to warm up to Botswana and address the increasing violence arising from collapse of families.
He said the country was wrestling with the crisis of gender-based violence and that it was an uphill battle.
“We believe that the strong culture in Lesotho may offer invaluable insights into how we can return to our roots and culture and address these problems.”
The President acknowledged that Lesotho had its own share of cyclical instability, but said he was hopeful that there was now peace.
He said Botswana stood with Lesotho, ready to share its own experiences of a country that was stable and democratic led by a single party for 58 years that saw a seamless and orderly change of government.
“It is this lesson that we stand ready to impart to others on the continent and throughout the world, and our experience can serve as inspiration to Basotho,” he stated.
King Letsie III said Lesotho was proud of the relationship between the two nations.
He said Botswana and Lesotho had shared identity and would continue to stand together in the future.
He said connections between Batswana and Basotho were central to strengthening the two nations’ relations, hence should be nurtured in order to pass on to future generations.
To this end, he said the historic grouping of University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (BOLESWA)shaped a shared identity that formed bonds that were strengthened through BOLESWA and inter-varsity games which united the youth of the three nations.
“These exchanges are not merely ceremonial, they are the foundations of a lasting fraternity among Basotho, Batswana and Baswati”, he said.
The King said Botswana and Lesotho cooperation spanned a wide range of sectors all grounded in the solid foundation of people to people interaction.
Furthermore, he said the joint membership in Southern Africa Development Community, United Nations, Southern African Customs Unions reflected common commitment to unity, sustainable development and collective progress.
He said strides made together include human development and economic integration and called for strengthening partnerships in promotion of economic integration.
King Letsie said the BNC signed between Botswana and Lesotho should not remain a policy framework in paper, but an instrument that delivered tangible results.
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