Ruptly
"South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Botswanan counterpart Duma Boko pledged to deepen bilateral ties during a state banquet in Gaborone on Wednesday. The two leaders said the relationship between South Africa and Botswana was becoming increasingly important amid global instability and shifting geopolitical alliances. "Botswana and South Africa, together with the wider international community, confront a rapidly evolving international and uncertain global landscape, a landscape of dissolving certainties," Boko said. "Yet it is precisely these moments, in these moments that the true character and value of strategic partnerships is revealed. Together, our nations have demonstrated adaptability and resolve," he continued. Ramaphosa described the current political climate as a test of long-standing partnerships, pointing to opportunities for cooperation in trade, agriculture, energy, artificial intelligence and other sectors. "During these testing times, at the geopolitical level where relationships that people thought were certain are no longer certain, but it is at these times that true friends are truly tested, that true friends cling together in partnership to advance each other's interests," he said. "We add Botswana in that category of friends, because not only, we are bound, are we bound together by geography, but we are bound together by the future that our people aspire," Ramaphosa added. Ramaphosa is on a two-day state visit to Botswana from May 20 to 21. He and Boko are set to co-chair the sixth session of the Botswana-South Africa Bi-National Commission in Gaborone. According to South Africa’s presidency, the visit is aimed at strengthening the strategic partnership between the two neighbours and advancing high-impact priority projects. Several new agreements are expected to be signed. South Africa is one of Botswana’s most important economic partners. In 2025, bilateral trade was worth around 82 billion rand, with South African exports to Botswana accounting for most of that total."
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