His Excellency Mr. Molosiwa Selepeng High Commissioner Botswana High Commission Canberra, Australia

 Botswana is located in the heart of Sothern Africa, its capital city being Gaborone  It is landlocked and surrounded by South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia

 Botswana is roughly the size of the USA state of Texas or France, spanning over km 2  Botswana is home to, amongst others, the Okavango Delta, the Kalahari Desert as well as the Makgadikgadi Pans  Botswana is a very dry country with 70% of the land surface covered by the Kalahari Desert

 Pre-Independence  Protectorate of the British Empire  Road to Independence  Discovery of diamonds

 Multiparty democracy/General elections  Organs of Government:  Executive  Legislature  Judiciary  Head of State and Cabinet  National Assembly  Ntlo ya Dikgosi/House of Chiefs

 Diamonds (and other mineral resources) are the largest revenue earner  Largest producer of diamonds, by value, worldwide  Tourism is the 2 nd largest earner.

 Beef is exported primarily to the European Union  Burgeoning manufacturing sector  Development of coal sector

 Botswana’s population is estimated at 2 million  Botswana consists of various ethnic groups  Although made up of many tribes, the people consider themselves Batswana, and the Tswana culture cuts across all tribal cultures  The concept of ‘botho’ is embodied in all the tribes

 Botswana’s Foreign Policy is a reflection of its domestic policy and is guided by the National principles of: democracy, development, self-reliance, unity and Botho

The basic tenets of Botswana’s foreign policy are:  Non-alignment (cultivation of friendly relations with all countries)  Peaceful coexistence (peaceful resolution of all conflicts)  Non-interference (respect for the sovereign equality of all nations)  Support for common causes of good

 The bilateral relationship between Botswana and Australia has continued to strengthen, underpinned by:  Warm and genuine friendship built on close cooperation in the Commonwealth  Strong people-to-people links  Trade and investment collaboration

 Australia and Botswana co-operate on a wide spectrum of areas, including, but not limited to, education, agriculture, health, mining and environment