President Karis: Botswana is an important development cooperation partner for Estonia

President Boko will be in Estonia from May 20 to 21. He received President Alar Karis and First Lady Sirje Karis in Botswana last March, and his visit to Estonia is the first state visit of his term. 

“Botswana is an important partner for Estonia in political dialogue as well as in business diplomacy and development cooperation,” said President of Estonia Alar Karis. “We are also united by a strong belief in democracy and a world order based on rules. Estonian companies are interested in developing cooperation with Botswanan partners in digital technologies. As a state, we're happy to share the experience of our digital state to jointly promote innovation."  

Today, President Karis and President Boko will participate in a business seminar to showcase the work done by Estonian entrepreneurs and discuss how Estonia can further support Botswana’s digital development. Development cooperation is also an important component of the relationship between the two countries, as Estonia is able to share its practical experiences in the fields of entrepreneurship, digitalisation and education. 

"It is a pleasure to see that Botswana's interest in Estonia has been great because we hosted a delegation from the Botswana Ministry of Education two weeks ago. Botswana has all the ingredients for a successful digital state: smart leadership, smart people and resources. Now we need to put them into the right recipe, and I believe that with Estonia and ESTDEV, we can contribute to this process,” said Katrin Winter, ESTDEV’s regional head for Africa. 

The state visit will focus on Estonia's experiences in e-governance, cybersecurity and digital services. The meetings will also discuss economic and educational cooperation between the two countries, closer cooperation in international organisations and issues related to international security. 

Estonian development cooperation supports Botswana's digital transformation, including improving the business climate, digital services, data protection, cybersecurity, digital entrepreneurship, startup ecosystem development, and e-governance services. 

Estonia currently has seven development cooperation projects underway in Botswana. These include two international Team Europe initiatives, through which ESTDEV has attracted over 2 million euros in foreign funding to implement project activities.