Africa-Press – Botswana. Swiss Confederation president, Dr Alain Berset is expected to arrive in Gaborone this afternoon at the start of a three-day state visit.
Botswana and Switzerland formally established diplomatic relations in 1967 and have maintained cordial ties since.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release indicates that President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi and his guest will discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of common interest.
They are also expected to explore areas of further collaboration such as in the health, finance, education, manufacturing, minerals and cultural sectors.
The release notes that high level interactions have taken place between the two states notably during President Masisi’s May 2022 working visit to Switzerland.
Apart from addressing the WHO general assembly in Geneva, attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, officially opening Botswana Permanent Mission to the United Nations’ new chancery in Geneva, which doubles as the embassy in Switzerland, he also met the Swiss leadership.
Accompanying Dr Berset is a Swiss business community delegation for interactions with their Botswana counterparts.
Switzerland, formally known as the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country bordering Germany, Italy, France and Austria, with a population of approximately 8.7 million.
The birthplace of possibly the world’s best known humanitarian organisation, Red Cross, Switzerland hosts a large number of international organisations including football governing body FIFA, the UN headquarters as well as its agencies WHO, UNHCR and ILO.
Switzerland is reputed to have the world’s highest standard of living and is currently ranked number one in the UNDP Human Development Index based on income levels, the quality of life expectancy, literacy rate, access to services such as water and electricity, crime rate and income inequality among others.
Dr Berset, 50, holds a PhD in Economics as well as undergraduate and master’s degrees in Political Science.
A social democrat, he first served in the Swiss Federal Council (cabinet) in 2012, initially heading the home affairs portfolio and later assuming the post of vice president.
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