04 Aug 2024

The Governor General of The Bahamas Dame Cynthia Alexandria Pratt on Friday concluded her five-day state visit to Botswana with a joint press conference with President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi.

During her visit, Ms Pratt met with President Masisi where they both pledged their commitment to nurture the already existing bilateral relations and to further explore new territories of collaboration for their people’s prosperity.

At the official talks, President Masisi indicated that Botswana attached great importance to the excellent bilateral relations with The Bahamas.

Ms Pratt said The Bahamans and Botswana shared a lot of similarities hence the need to stand united not just in shared history but in a shared mission to leverage collective skills, resources and brotherhood.

“As we move forward, we must remain committed to the spirit of collaboration and innovation to draw strength from our shared history with the knowledge that we can together build a safe haven for our people,” she said.

Ms Pratt’s itinerary included a tour of the Diamond Trading Company where she commended Botswana for her successful diamond story and the achievement powered by the diamond industry.

She said the story of the Botswana diamonds was unique, worth preserving and sharing with the world.

At the core of her visit was a drive at the Mokolodi Game Reserve where she appreciated the beautiful fauna and flora that Botswana was endowed with and its potential to the country’s economic growth.

“There are unique things about Botswana, the animals, landscape, culture; the things tourists gravitate towards. If we are able to package that together and work on the hospitality, then we could attract more people coming to Botswana,” she said.

She also attended the Youth Development Fund beneficiaries’ exhibition where she admired the young people and their role in being responsible future leaders. She also visited Francistown Senior Secondary School and Gaborone women and boys prisons.

Having stayed in the country for almost a week, Ms Pratt fondly expressed her love for Botswana, saying, “I do not know whether I am happy to leave because I enjoyed myself tremendously, more specially that Botswana feel more like home to me. The reception was warm everywhere we went and the hospitality was world class. This has proved to be a very successful visit and I would definitely love to come back.”

There was clearly much goodwill on Ms Pratt’s visit during which she seemed to be relaxed and enjoyed the opportunity from the moment she set foot at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport where she was ushered in by Tshwaragano Primary School pupils with a bouquet of flowers and she reciprocated with a motherly embrace.

Ms Pratt was  accompanied by Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Fredrick Mitchell and other senior government officials. Ends