Prez Murmu arrives in Botswana for 3-day state visit; India to get 8 cheetahs

Gaborone (Botswana), Nov 11 (PTI) President Droupadi Murmu arrived in Botswana on Tuesday on the final leg of her two-nation visit to Africa, aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and finalising an agreement on the translocation of eight Kalahari desert cheetahs to India.

Murmu, who took off from Angola's capital Luanda early in the day, arrived at the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Botswana's capital Gaborone, and was received by President Duma Gideon Boko.

She was accorded a 21-gun salute and a guard of honour at the tarmac. The two heads of state later witnessed a performance by the traditional dance troupe at the airport.

This is the first-ever visit of an Indian President to Botswana, like Angola. Murmu is on a six-day state visit to the two countries.

During her three days in the landlocked southern African country, Murmu will hold delegation-level talks with President Boko, and senior officials from both sides will exchange some Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) aimed at enhancing bilateral ties.

She will also address the Parliamentarians of the National Assembly of Botswana on Wednesday.

Murmu and Boko will preside over an event where eight captured cheetahs will be released into a quarantine facility at the Mokolodi nature reserve, marking the symbolic handing over of the hunting cats to India by Botswana as part of Project Cheetah and under a mutual initiative for wildlife conservation.

The cheetahs have been brought to the nature reserve, 10 km south of Gaborone, from the Ghanzi town located in the Kalahari desert.

Murmu is also expected to meet the Indian community here.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said in Delhi during a pre-visit presser that the state visit of the President "underscores India's commitment to strengthen its long-standing and friendly ties with Botswana".

During the visit, President Murmu will hold bilateral talks with her counterpart, it said.

"The two leaders will discuss and explore new avenues for enhancing bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade and investments, technology, energy, agriculture, health, pharmaceuticals, defence, and people-to-people ties," MEA secretary (economic relations) Sudhakar Dalela had said.

Diamonds dominate bilateral trade between the two countries. Botswana exports rough diamonds to India, while India exports pharmaceuticals, machinery, iron and steel, and electrical equipment to the country, whose 70 per cent area is covered by the Kalahari desert.

The year 2026 will mark 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

Botswana is the world's leading producer of rough diamonds by value and the second-largest by volume. India had a USD 506 million worth of trade with the country during the 2024-25 fiscal.

In the first leg of her four-day state visit to Angola, President Murmu met her Angolan counterpart Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco and held high-level talks with him. The two heads of state oversaw the signing of two MOUs by senior officials of both sides.

In Luanda, Murmu assured Angola that there were "unlimited" possibilities to strengthen bilateral relations in various sectors, including energy security, diamond processing, agriculture, petroleum refining, and critical minerals exploration.

During the pre-visit presser, MEA had said that India is confident that Murmu's visit will further strengthen India's long-standing collaborative ties with Angola and Botswana, and "open up new avenues for collaboration and expanding our partnership".

The visit, Dalela noted is "reflective of India's firm commitment to further strengthen its multifaceted partnership with the African continent".

Murmu will depart for Delhi on Thursday. PTI NES SCY SCY