Gaborone (Botswana), November 13 : India and Botswana advanced cooperation in health and wildlife conservation during President Droupadi Murmu's state visit, with MEA Secretary of Economic Relations Sudhakar Dalela outlining key developments.
Addressing a press briefing, Dalela said that Botswana's leadership expressed strong interest in India's digital transformation initiatives. "The leadership of Botswana also conveyed their keen interest in learning about the deployment of digital public infrastructure in India and how we are leveraging technology to improve the delivery of citizen-centric services, the deployment of e-governance, and overall economic efficiency across the government," he added, underlining the focus on technology-driven collaboration.
Building on these discussions, both nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the health sector. Dalela explained, "We have signed an MoU in the area of health sector. This MoU will facilitate access to quality and affordable medicines from India to Botswana. The President also conveyed Government of India's readiness and decision to send essential ARV medicines as requested by Government of Botswana."
This step reflects the growing bilateral engagement in addressing healthcare needs.
Wildlife conservation also featured prominently during the visit, highlighting another area of partnership. Dalela said, "Botswana has agreed to partner with India in our efforts to reintroduce cheetahs in India under Project Cheetah," demonstrating the countries' commitment to collaborative environmental initiatives.
Reflecting on the broader significance of the visit, Dalela emphasised that President Murmu's engagements underscore India's commitment to strengthening its long-standing friendship with Botswana and expanding ties with the African region. "The State visit by the President underscores India's commitment to strengthening its long-standing, friendly ties with Botswana. The visit also reflects India's firm commitment to expanding partnership with the African region, including within the framework of India-Africa Forum Summit," he said.
He further noted that Botswana's leadership attached great importance to the visit. "The President of Botswana described the visit as historic," Dalela said, pointing to the momentum generated by the trip. "The state visit of the President has given a fresh momentum to our close ties of friendship and cooperation with Botswana. We have a clear roadmap for expanding our partnership with Botswana, and the task before us now is to build on this very positive momentum."
President Murmu had earlier concluded the first leg of her two-nation African tour in Angola from November 8 to 11 at the invitation of President João Lourenco, reaffirming India's focus on strengthening partnerships across Africa and the wider Global South.
She then arrived in Botswana on November 11, marking the first-ever state visit by an Indian head of state to the country.
During her stay, she engaged in bilateral discussions, addressed Botswana's National Assembly, and worked to advance cooperation in key sectors including trade, investment, technology, energy, agriculture, health, pharmaceuticals, defence, and people-to-people exchanges.
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