Senior officials from Botswana and Rwanda are meeting in Gaborone this week for the Second Session of the Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation (JPCC) as the two countries prepare for President Paul Kagame’s state visit on 6–7 May.
The talks are aimed at finalising new cooperation agreements and strengthening a partnership that has expanded steadily since Kagame’s 2019 visit when the two governments established the JPCC as a framework for deeper bilateral engagement.
Delegations from both sides are discussing new memoranda of understanding, rules and regulations to guide cooperation, and priority areas such as double taxation, trade, agriculture and other strategic sectors.
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Officials have agreed on a three‑month timeline to conclude outstanding matters, supported by a biannual review mechanism to ensure accountability and delivery.
The meeting builds on progress made since the inaugural JPCC session in Rwanda where several agreements were signed and have since begun yielding results.
Botswana and Rwanda have increasingly aligned their cooperation around economic diversification, digital innovation, skills development and intra‑African collaboration, positioning their relationship as a model for practical, high‑impact partnership.
Kagame’s visit later this week will include official talks with President Gideon Boko on digital trade, tourism, animal vaccine development, transport connectivity and cooperation in the diamond value chain.
He is also expected to tour the Diamond Trading Company Botswana.
Several agreements are set to be signed, including frameworks on trade and investment, institutional collaboration between the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre and the Rwanda Development Board, and a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.
A business forum on Tuesday will bring together private‑sector players from both countries.
Kagame will be accompanied by cabinet ministers, senior officials and a business delegation, underscoring the economic focus of the visit.
AP
