1. On October 22, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi and Minister of Trade and Industry Vincent Seretse of Botswana, who are in the Republic of Korea to accompany their President Ian Khama on his official visit to the ROK from October 21 through 24. In the meeting, the two sides discussed in depth ways to step up substantive cooperation between their two countries in political affairs, economy, education and culture.

2. The three Ministers, while noting with appreciation the steady advances in the friendly and cooperative ties between the ROK and Botswana since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1968, agreed to increase bilateral substantive cooperation in various sectors by building on the momentum of the increasingly robust high-level exchanges of late.

3. Foreign Minister Venson-Moitoi of Botswana, who had previously served as the country’s Minister of Education for ten years, underscored the need to combine strategies for economic development with those for education. Mentioning that Botswana considers the ROK, which has made outstanding progress in the field, as its role model, the Minister voiced hope that the ROK will further share its knowhow in such fields as vocational and technical education.

4. Foreign Minister Yun and Botswana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, given the great potential for bilateral economic cooperation, agreed to make efforts to seek new items for trade in order to increase bilateral trade. They also agreed to work more closely together in power plants and other infrastructure areas as well as new and renewable energy, such as solar energy.

5. The Ministers of the two countries agreed to proactively seek advances in the bilateral relations in the future through continued high-level exchanges.


* unofficial translation