20 May 2013

Vice President, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe says Botswana appreciates Canada’s friendship, which dates back to almost five decades.

Speaking during a luncheon hosted in the honour of Canadian Governor General, Mr David Johnston, the Vice President said Canada was among the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Botswana following independence in 1966. 

“Canada held Botswana’s hand during the darker days of our development,” he said. Botswana earned a respectable place in a number of categories on global ratings mainly because of the Canadian assistance, he said. “Such assistance has buttressed our commitment and tenacity of purpose,” he said. Botswana, he said, attached high premium to this traditional relationship.

“This places you at a vantage position to understand and appreciate the necessity of staying the course, to avoid losing the modest gains made so far through Canada’s investment, particularly in the mineral sector and training of many mining engineers in Canadian institutions,” he said.

The Vice President said although Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) no longer maintained bilateral development assistance programme for Botswana, it continued to offer assistance in other programmes such as HIV/AIDS and training of local health professionals. 

Dr Kedikilwe said Canada had become a benchmark for other countries as it had managed to minimise the impact of the global economic meltdown. About the local economy, he said Botswana had embarked on a number of initiatives such as Economic Diversification Drive and appealed to Canadian business community to take a closer look into the initiative and explore available opportunities.

 “These are in sectors such as ICT, leather and glass manufacturing, agriculture, mineral beneficiation, to mention but a few,” he said. He said Botswana like Canada, was steadfast in the belief that human dignity was the sine qua for international peace and security. 

It was in this regard, he said, that Botswana paid tribute to Canada for the leadership it had demonstrated in the promotion of this ideal. He also commended Canada for its role in Syria and said Botswana had also made a contribution through the UN and involvement with Friends of Syria. Dr Kedikilwe said the Kimberly process had grown to be an example of international partnership in the quest to balance economic development with human right.  

For his part, Mr Johnston said Canada treasured its friendship with Botswana, saying the impact of knowledge sharing was felt not only at government level, but also at people-to-people level. He said the two countries were succeeding in this regard, adding this was because people were taking advantage of the opportunities to interact and learn from one another.

 “I am particularly interested to see the mining operations in your country,” he said, adding that while Botswana was leading the world in production, Canada was following at number three. Earlier in the day, the Governor General and his entourage that included his wife, toured the Diamond Trading Company Botswana. ENDS