22 Feb 2015

President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama has received letters of credence from the Ambassadors of Columbia and Indonesia as well as the High Commissioner of Ghana.

Speaking in an interview after presenting her letters of credence to President Khama on Thursday, February 18, Columbia’s ambassador, Ms Martha Cecilia Pinilla Perdomo, said she was very happy to be in Botswana.

“We have issues that are very important to the development of our two countries. Our diplomatic relation started in April 1989. We have since so many years been negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in political consultations that we hope we can sign this year. Also we are negotiating another MoU in Technical Cooperation between Columbia and Botswana and we have finalised the negotiations for a MoU in transport. There is a Botswana official delegation going next month to Columbia and that would give an opportunity for Botswana and Columbia to sign this specific MoU in transportation,” she said.

Ambassador Perdomo said she believed strongly in South-South Cooperation- a broad framework for collaboration among countries of the South in the political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and technical domains. 

For his part, Indonesia’s Ambassador, Mr Suprapto Martosemoto said he was the first Indonesian Ambassador to be accredited to Botswana. 

His duties, he said would be to increase the bilateral relations between the two countries,  especially in strengthening economic ties for the prosperity of both countries.

Ambassador Martosemoto said there were a lot of opportunities for both countries to strengthen their bilateral trade. Indonesia, he said produced both palm oil and gas and mostly exported the oil to Africa, whilst gas was exported to other countries. 

Other trade relations between Botswana and Indonesia, he said could be in the field of agriculture, adding that currently Indonesia imported cattle from Australia and in the future could start importing from Botswana.

Ghana’s High Commissioner, Mr Alhaji Abdul- Rahman Harruna Attah said President Khama  spoke about the relationship between the two countries and how Botswana and Ghana should encourage the inter African collaboration and dialogue.

“To advance the two countries’ developmental agenda, sport exchanges have also become very important bridge building exercises between nations, so that’s one way we could look at. There is also food and meat industry and tourism,” he added. ENDS