Your Excellency, President Ian Khama;

Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers;

Senior Officials;

Ladies and gentlemen;

 

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you, Mr President and your esteemed delegation to South Africa.

Allow me, Your Excellency, to thank you for honouring our invitation to this the inaugural Session of the Bi-National Commission between our two countries.

I hope that our welcoming you and our hospitality will equally match the warmth and friendliness that I experienced during my State Visit to Botswana in August 2012. 

Ladies and gentlemen,

South Africa and Botswana share close historical, geographical and cultural affinities.

These are the bonds that bind our two countries, inextricably linking us to a common future.

Long before we formalised our relations, our peoples interacted with one another, with Botswana being are fuge to many of our citizens as they sought shelter and protection from the brutal apartheid government, which was determined on destabilizing any country that offered support to the liberation movements.

It was these early interactions that laid the foundations of our current strong ties.

Whenever, we meet we cannot but recognize this rich history between our two countries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

South Africa and Botswana have enjoyed formal bilateral relations for nearly 20 years now and the level of interaction has continued to grow from strength to strength as we seek new and better ways to improve our cooperation.

It is in this light, Your Excellency, that we have deemed it necessary to elevate our existing structured bilateral mechanisms to the highest level possible, hence the signing in August2012 of the Agreement establishing the Bi-National Commission between our two sisterly countries.

This new framework expand sour bilateral interaction by combining the Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation and the Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today is therefore a historic occasion as we formally inaugurate the Bi-National Commission between our two countries.

The decision to establish the BNC is a clear commitment by our two countries to consolidate and enhance our bilateral cooperation to a strategic partnership.

 

Your Excellency

This BNC provides us the platform to expand our cooperation to cover a wide range of areas including energy, trade and investment, transport, education, communications, science and technology.

This also includes agriculture, security, immigration, arts and culture, water and environmental cooperation, cross border cooperation, justice, to mention but a few.

We need to prioritise cross border projects that have the potential to increase and ease movement of goods and services for the mutual benefit of our respective countries and peoples.

 

Your Excellency

Our two countries belong to the same regional, continental and international organisations.

We therefore need to strengthen our cooperation within these organisations.

In this regard, we take this opportunity to thank Botswana for her valuable support to South Africa’s candidature for the seat in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

We assure you, Your Excellency, that South Africa will utilize her presence in the Council to speak out against human rights violations whenever and wherever such violations take place.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We will shortly be receiving reports from Ministers and Senior Officials who have been meeting for the past three days and I look forward to successful deliberations.

I now take this opportunity to invite you, Your Excellency, to make your opening remarks.

I thank you for your attention.