His Excellency Mr. Molosiwa SelepengHigh CommissionerBotswana High CommissionCanberra, 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 581 730km2 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:ExecutiveLegislatureJudiciary

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 2nd largest earner.

Beef is exported primarily to the European Union

Burgeoning manufacturing sector

Development of coal sector

Botswanas 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

Botswanas 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 Botswanas 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 linksTrade 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