Luanda, ANGOLA, August 13 - The President of the Republic of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, arrived Tuesday afternoon in Luanda for a 48-hour official visit to Angola,for a bilateral consultations with his counterpart João Lourenço.,

At 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, Botswana's Head of State received greetings from the Angolan Defense Minister Salviano Sequeira, Luanda Governor, Luther Rescova and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Téte António.

According to the program of the visit, on Wednesday (14), Mokgweetsi Masisi will be received in audience at the Presidential Palace of the  Cidadev Alta by President João Lourenço, and the return to Gaberone scheduled for late afternoon on the same day. .

The Presidential delegation is comprised by the Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs and Environment, among other senior officials of the Botswana Government.

Angola and Botswana have had diplomatic relations since 1975, having signed in February 2006 a General Cooperation Agreement.

Both countries are members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which seeks to consolidate the foundations to form a free trade zone.

In addition to these two states, SADC includes South Africa, Comoros, Namibia, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Seychelles, Malawi, and Swatini, Leshoto, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Angola and Botswana are also involved in the Okavango / Zambezi cross-border tourism project, which is also shared by Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia, for a total of 278,000 square kilometers in perimeter for the common practice of ecotourism.

This regional project is also intended for the preservation and shared management of natural resources, with Angola having the second largest portion of the project, with 87,000 square kilometers, behind Zambia, which provided 97,000 square kilometers.

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