Botswana on Saturday urged India to do more for South-South cooperation in a changing world order. Pleased to be included in the list of countries being visited by Vice-President Hamid Ansari in a “long overdue high-level visit from India to southern Africa,” the Botswana leadership underlined the need for the developing world to speak up in one voice on issues of common concern.
The issue of South-South cooperation came up in talks Mr. Ansari held with Botswana President Seretse Khama Ian Khama and Vice-President Mompati S. Merafhe soon after he arrived here on Saturday. Secretary (West) in the External Affairs Ministry, Vivek Katju, said the government of Botswana reiterated its support for India’s efforts to get membership of an extended United Nations Security Council. Climate change was also discussed and both sides stressed the need to adhere to the principle of differentiated response in tune with the capacities of different countries in all discussions on climate change.
The situations in Zimbabwe and Congo were also briefly discussed, according to Mr. Katju. Asked if India which has desisted from taking a position on Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s electoral strategies on the plea that there should not be any interference in the domestic affairs of other countries and Botswana agreed on the issue, he said, there was no difference in the positions of the two countries.
“The government of Botswana is of the view that there should be a democratic government in Zimbabwe, and there should be free and fair elections. This is a position shared by the African Union and the government of India,” Mr. Katju said.
Two agreements were signed for capacity-building in agriculture and an exchange programme in education.
On both the fronts, Mr. Ansari assured Botswana of India’s continued support in capacity building, a key requirement of southern Africa as it seeks to back political independence with economic independence.
