Foreign relations of Botswana

Both countries established diplomatic relations on February 28, 2008.^[1]

Diplomatic relations between Botswana and Croatia were established on September 9, 2005.^[2][3]

Diplomatic relations between Botswana and Cyprus were established on February 22, 2005.^[4]

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 23 July 2007.^[5]

Diplomatic relations between Georgia and Botswana were established on November 5, 2015.

Botswana is represented in Greece through its Permanent Representation to the United Nation Office in Geneva, Switzerland, and Greece is represented in Botswana through its embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.^[6]

Botswana and Guinea-Bissau established diplomatic relations on 22 March 2010.^[7]

• Both countries have established diplomatic relations on 28 October 1975.^[8]
• Guyana is covered through the Botswana Mission in New York, USA.^[9]
• Both countries are full members of Commonwealth of Nations.

Both countries are full members of the Southern African Development Community, Commonwealth of Nations and of the Non-Aligned Movement.

• Botswana is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States.^[10]
• Mexico is accredited to Botswana from its embassy in Pretoria, South Africa^[11] and maintains an honorary consulate in Gaborone.^[12]

Botswana–Namibia relations are friendly, with the two neighbouring countries cooperating on economic development. Botswana gained independence from Britain in September 1966. Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990 following the Namibian War of Independence. Botswana has a high commission in Windhoek.^[13] Namibia has a high commission in Gaborone.^[14]

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 15 December 2009.^[15]

Diplomatic relations between Botswana and Romania were established on October 7, 1971.^[16]

Botswana and the Soviet Union initiated diplomatic relations on March 6, 1970. Despite its pro-Western orientation, Botswana participated in the 1980 Summer Olympics. The present-day relations between the two countries are described as friendly and long standing. In March, the two countries also celebrated the 35th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations. According to the minister of Foreign Affairs, Russia was one of the first countries to establish full diplomatic relations with Botswana.^[17]

Trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Botswana are stipulated by the Trade Agreement of 1987 and the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation of 1988. The Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Botswana signed the Agreement on Cultural, Scientific and Educational Cooperation in September 1999. Russia and Botswana have had fruitful cooperation in a variety of fields, particularly in human resource development. And Russia is still offering more scholarship in key sectors such as health, which is currently experiencing a critical shortage of manpower. Botswana also is one of the countries where Russian citizens do not require a visa.^[18] Russia has an embassy in Gaborone, while Botswana covers Russia from its embassy in Stockholm (Sweden) and an honorary consulate in Moscow.

• Both countries established diplomatic relations on February 22, 2007^[19].
• Both countries are full members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Botswana and Samoa established diplomatic relations on 18 March 2010.^[7]

Diplomatic relations between Botswana and Serbia were established in 1970.^[20]

• Both countries established diplomatic relations on November 17, 2010^[21].
• Both countries are full members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Botswana began on April 18, 1968. In 2011 the number of South Koreans living in Botswana amounted to 163.^[22] Since 2014, the government of Botswana recognized ROK as the sole legitimate government of Korea.^[23]

Diplomatic relations between Botswana and Turkey were established in 1981.^[24]

Embassy of Botswana in Washington, D.C.

The United States considers Botswana an advocate of and a model for stability in Africa and has been a major partner in Botswana's development since its independence. The U.S. Peace Corps returned to Botswana in August 2002 with a focus on HIV/AIDS-related programs after concluding 30 years of more broadly targeted assistance in 1997. Similarly, the USAID phased out a long-standing bilateral partnership with Botswana in 1996, after successful programs emphasizing education, training, entrepreneurship, environmental management, and reproductive health. Botswana, however, continues to benefit along with its neighbours in the region from USAID's Initiative for Southern Africa, now based in Pretoria, and USAID's Southern Africa Global Competitiveness Hub, headquartered in Gaborone. The United States International Board of Broadcasters (IBB) operates a major Voice of America (VOA) relay station in Botswana serving most of the African continent.

In 1995, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) started the BOTUSA Project in collaboration with the Botswana Ministry of Health in order to generate information to improve tuberculosis control efforts in Botswana and elsewhere in the face of the TB and HIV/AIDS co-epidemics. Under the 1999 U.S. Government's Leadership and Investment in Fighting an Epidemic (LIFE) Initiative, CDC through the BOTUSA Project has undertaken many projects and has assisted many organizations in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Botswana. Botswana is one of the 15 focus countries for PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, and has received more than $230 million since the program began in January 2004 through September 2007. PEPFAR assistance to Botswana, which totalled $76.2 million in FY 2007, is contributing to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care interventions.

The Governments of Botswana and the United States entered into an agreement in July 2000 to establish an International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Gaborone. The academy, jointly financed, managed and staffed by the two nations, provides training to police and government officials from across the Sub-Saharan region. The academy's permanent campus, in Otse outside of Gaborone, opened March 2003. Over 3,000 law enforcement professionals from Sub-Saharan Africa have received training from ILEA since it began offering classes in 2001.

Botswana still struggles to seal its border from thousands of Zimbabweans who flee economic collapse and political persecution.