Kagame hails Rwanda-Botswana ties
Relations between Rwanda and Botswana have entered a new era, thanks to President Paul Kagame's state visit to Gaborone on Wednesday, May 6, where he met with his counterpart Duma Boko.
During the two-day visit, six agreements were signed for cooperation in various areas, including double taxation avoidance, visa abolition for select passport holders, air services, health, and trade and investment. A Memorandum of Understanding also was signed between the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
Rwanda and Botswana enjoy warm bilateral relations, with cooperation in several sectors, including diplomacy, mineral resources, defence and security, police cooperation, investment promotion, and agriculture.
'Partnership on the right track'
Following their one-to-one meeting and bilateral engagements of their delegations, Kagame and Boko held a press conference, in which they commended the state of the two countries' relations.
"What defines the relationship between Rwanda and Botswana is not only friendship, but also a shared sense of purpose," Kagame said.
"This is evident in the way we work together, in our commitment to practical outcomes across areas, such as air connectivity, visa facilitation, and double taxation. Our objective is to remove barriers and to create a more predictable environment for investment and corroboration."
The Rwandan leader commended Botswana's forward-looking leadership, particularly in the management of natural resources such as diamonds in a way that retains value and translates it into real benefits for citizens.
"This is an approach that strongly resonates with us," Kagame said. "That same clarity is evident in your efforts to strengthen health security. By investing in pharmaceutical capacities and the resilience, Botswana is addressing domestic needs, while also contributing to a more self-reliant continent."
Kagame said partnership between Rwanda and Botswana "on the right track."
"Corporation in areas such as justice and security continues to deepen and we are now expanding into economic sectors, including trade," he said.
"What we agree here must translate into trans improvements in the lives of our citizens. That is the true measure of success."
Kagame reiterated Rwanda's commitment to foster good relations with Botswana.
On his part, President Boko said Kagame's visit allowed for "strategic re-alignment, for a reaffirmation of our shared vision and appreciation that this vision is not self-executing."
He said this vision will need the two governments to implement it with a sense of urgency.
"I appreciate the agreements that we've signed today, no less our response to Rwanda's exemplary gesture, which removed all barriers and barricades to free movement between Rwanda and Botswana," he said.
He noted that Rwanda removed visa requirements and extended the regular 30-day stay allowable for visiting foreign nationals.
"Rwanda that took it to six months," Boko said. "That is exemplary. That's is indicative of a practical measure to move us away from the deadbeat of habit. Rwanda has done something that had not been done before. and we are most grateful.
"We, for our part, will respond with reciprocity, [with] measures that will enable the same treatment extended to us to be extended to the people of Rwanda."
Kagame's State Visit to Gaborone was preceded by the Second Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation (JPCC) and the Second Rwanda–Botswana Business Forum.
On Wednesday evening, Kagame attended a State Banquet hosted in his honour by President Boko. On Thursday, President Kagame will tour the Botswana Diamond Trading Company.
