Botswana Keen to Further Heighten Collaboration with Ethiopia: Deputy Ambassador

Addis Ababa: Botswana is eager to strengthen its cordial bilateral relations with Ethiopia in various spheres, Botswana’s Deputy Ambassador to Ethiopia told ENA. Deputy Ambassador Poppy Mhambi said that Botswana and Ethiopia collaborate in different elements, including in the multilateral arena; and bilaterally, they enjoy a good relationship. However, she stressed that there is still room for the countries to expand and strengthen the relationship in terms of economic collaboration, cultural exchanges, and people-to-people connection. ‘I can say that Botswana is eager to see this collaboration growing from strength to strength,’ Mhambi affirmed.

According to Ethiopian News Agency, the government of Botswana had engagements even recently at the very highest level with Ethiopia. The deputy ambassador mentioned that the leaders of the two sides had a one-on-one meeting during the African Union summit. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Duma Boko had a fruitful discussion that explored opportunities for enhancing cooperation between Botswana and Ethiopia in trade, development, and regional security on the margins of the 38th AU Summit held last February. There was a positive expression from both sides to enhance bilateral cooperation between the countries, the deputy ambassador stated.

‘We are in the process of concluding some very important memorandums of understanding in various areas; one of them being in agriculture where we hope to exploit the opportunities,’ Mhambi noted. The areas that Botswana is much interested in include agriculture, tourism, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing. Botswana and Ethiopia have a relationship rooted in mutual respect and the spirit of Pan-Africanism, it was learned.