M Venkaiah Naidu on Africa tour: Indian armed forces may train Botswana troops

Tirumurti mentioned that Naidu “proposed” a solution to send the training teams under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation bilateral assistance programme of the Indian government. This was “welcomed” by Botswana, and India is “confident that we will be able to bring our training teams back” and Botswana is “very keen” for them. India is, he said, “very happy that this is an important outcome of the discussions with the Botswana side”.

India expressed happiness over Botswana’s “continuous support in multilateral fora, reflecting the enduring spirit of friendship between two countries” and both sides agreed that the UN Security Council “needs to be reformed to make it more representative in response to the geo-political realities” of the 21st century, Tirumurti said.

During his talks with Tsogwane, Naidu referred to the “stable democratic environment which Botswana provides and appreciated its important role in the context of Southern African Development Community,” and his counterpart from Botswana “warmly recalled India’s contribution to the freedom struggle of many Southern African Nations, including Botswana”.

It announced willingness to join the International Solar Alliance, which, he said, should happen “very soon”. Copper mining was discussed between the delegates of India and Botswana. Another “important” area for cooperation is healthcare, Tirumurti said.

Naidu is on a three-nation tour in Africa. After Botswana, he will visit Zimbabwe and Malawi, taking the total number of African nations to 29 toured either by the President, Vice-President or the Prime Minister in the last four years.