Botswana’s President Duma Boko Visits France and Spain to Reinforce Economic Partnership
From 6 to 11 April 2026, Botswana’s President Duma Boko undertook a state visit to France and Spain. The visit occurred on the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Botswana and France.
On 7 April 2026, President Boko attended the One Health Summit in Lyon, France. On 8 April, President Boko met with French President Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris.
To deepen economic partnership, a Botswana-France Business Summit was also held during the visit. The Presidential delegation from Botswana held a dialogue with the French enterprises regrouped under MEDEF International. The key sectors of cooperation explored include energy, infrastructure, water and digitalization.
One of the key flagship cooperation projects is in the area of nuclear power. France would be interested in securing the supply of #uranium since it recently lost access to the SOMAIR mine as a consequence of the Government of Niger nationalizing the asset. Thereafter, French nuclear firm Orano initiated a diplomatic push to look for alternative sources. It is worth recalling that 70% of France’s electricity is generated from nuclear.
Botswana holds reserves of uranium estimated at about 800,000 tonnes. The main uranium deposit is situated at Letlhakane and is known as one of the largest undeveloped uranium resources globally. Orano had already applied and received exploration licences in Ghanzi District in Western Botswana. As part of its #EnergyTransition, Botswana is weighing this opportunity to introduce nuclear power in its energy mix.
On 9 April, President Boko met with Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez. The talks focused on fostering the #EnergyTransition and promoting #RenewableEnergy. Botswana has huge reserves of coal and abundant solar illumination, and is thus trying to strike the right compromise between fossil fuels and green energy.
On the same day, Botswana’s Minister of International Relations, Phenyo Butale, met with Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Albares. Minister Butale took note of Spain’s Africa Strategy 2025-2028 and highlighted that Gaborone hosts the Southern African Development Community (SADC) headquarters. Then, both sides explored collaborations in the fields of renewable energy and infrastructure.