Botswana: Botswana Dr Batlang Comma Serema, Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana to the People’s Republic of China, attended a ceremony by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China to mark the completion of the design and manufacture of the Multi-Satellite Transportable Ground Application System (TGAS), provided by the Government of China to Botswana.
This mobile meteorological station is expected to play an instrumental role in complementing Botswana’s efforts to combat climate change, which has negative impacts on the country’s agriculture, water security and health.
The equipment is expected to enable tracking changes in weather patterns and other environmental factors in Botswana as well as provide early warning systems for droughts and natural disasters such as floods. It is composed of a total of twenty-one (21) capabilities which include satellite tracking, data acquisition, processing and image application, and environmental monitoring, among others. This meteorological equipment is expected to arrive in Botswana within the first half of 2023.
Furthermore, His Excellency Ambassador Dr Serema had a bilateral engagement with the Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment of China, His Excellency Mr Zhao Yingmin, where the two exchanged views on opportunities for further cooperation on climate change mitigation and ecological conservation.
His Excellency Ambassador Dr Serema took the opportunity to relay Botswana’s gratitude to the Government of China for the provision of the meteorological equipment and further expressed appreciation for the sustained cooperation and commitment to partnering with Botswana in her development agenda.
Earlier, Botswana and China shared diplomatic ties, and they always respected, trusted and supported each other. In the 2008 earthquake in China, the Botswana government donated one million pula. Recently, the Chinese government has successfully delivered $129 million in Botswana’s finance.
