Botswana and Oman have signed a series of bilateral agreements covering investment, trade, aviation, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and political cooperation, giving practical shape to the growing relationship between the two countries.
The agreements were signed during His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, Sultan of Oman’s two day State Visit to Botswana, and was aimed at strengthening economic and diplomatic ties between the two nations.
The signing followed discussions between President Duma Boko and Sultan Haitham, during which the two leaders outlined areas where they wanted to expand cooperation. Boko said Botswana was seeking partnerships in tourism and environmental conservation, including joint tourism projects.
“We will cooperate in the area of tourism and environmental conservation,” he said. The President also said Botswana wanted to develop its capacity to host international conferences, while seeking Omani support for such ambitions. Health was another priority identified by Boko, who highlighted Botswana’s shortage of essential medicines and said Oman could assist in addressing the challenge.
“We face a crisis here, shortage of essential medicines. And we know Oman is best placed to support and assist our efforts in resolving this problem,” he said.
The subsequent signing of a memorandum establishing a Botswana-Oman Medicines Security, Regulatory Cooperation, Pharmaceutical Supply and Investment Partnership places medicines and pharmaceutical cooperation among the concrete areas of bilateral engagement.
The agreement is intended to support cooperation in medicines supply security, regulatory matters and pharmaceutical investment, as Botswana seeks to strengthen its essential medicines supply chain. The two countries also signed agreements aimed at strengthening investment and commercial relations.
These include instruments on investment promotion and commerce, industry and investment promotion, while Business Botswana and the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate business-to-business links and identify trade, investment and commercial opportunities.
Political cooperation will also be formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations, alongside a Memorandum of Agreement on General Cooperation.
The countries further agreed to remove visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and special passports and signed an air services agreement intended to facilitate closer aviation links.
Boko had also identified agriculture and food security, trade, exploration and mining as areas in which Botswana wanted to deepen cooperation with Oman.
“We will cooperate in agriculture and food security. We have begun concrete steps towards operationalizing our cooperation and relationship in exploration and in mining,” he said.
He commended Oman for what he described as its speed in responding to opportunities for cooperation and moving towards implementation. For his part, Sultan Haitham said the scope for cooperation was extensive and described the engagement as only the beginning of a broader relationship.
“There are so many things that we can do together. And this is just the beginning,” he said.
The Sultan said Oman would extend its support wherever the two countries identified opportunities to work together. He pointed specifically to energy cooperation, including the O-Green project, saying officials from both sides had already been engaging to maintain momentum and meet implementation timelines.
“I would like to see more visits from officials on various sectors to follow up what we are going to agree on,” Sultan Haitham said.
The agreements signed during the visit provide mechanisms for that continued engagement, while expanding the relationship into practical areas of economic and commercial cooperation. International Relations Minister Dr Phenyo Butale said the government would ensure that the agreements are implemented. Botswana has also committed to opening a diplomatic mission in Oman, further strengthening the institutional framework for the expanding relationship.
The agreements build on cooperation that has increasingly focused on energy, mining, investment and trade, while broadening the partnership into healthcare, aviation, tourism and agriculture.
For Botswana, the relationship offers opportunities to attract investment and strengthen cooperation in strategic sectors, while Oman’s engagement forms part of its wider drive to expand international economic partnerships and diversify investment opportunities.
