Botswana Vice President and Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe has concluded a two-week working visit to the US where he attended the 2025 IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings and immediately shifted his diplomatic efforts to Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
During his US mission, Gaolathe held high-level discussions with global financial institutions and addressed audiences at MIT and George Washington University, reinforcing Botswana’s economic reform agenda and investment potential.
“These platforms provided the Vice President with a unique opportunity to present Botswana’s reform agenda and to reinforce the country’s position as a reliable and forward-thinking development partner,” the Botswana government statement said in a statement on Tuesday.
A key milestone of the visit was the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Luxembourg aimed at positioning Botswana as an emerging financial services hub in Africa.
Following engagements with IMF, World Bank, OPEC Fund and Japanese development agencies, Gaolathe is now set to extend his diplomatic push to Europe where he will participate in major economic fora and investor discussions.
In Switzerland, he will deliver a keynote speech at the St. Gallen Symposium where he will outline Botswana’s vision for resilience in a shifting global economy.
In London, he will speak at the Cambridge Africa Together Conference 2025 and lead investment roundtables focusing on financial services, renewable energy, critical minerals and eco-tourism.
Gaolathe is expected to return to Botswana on May 15, with Assistant Minister of Communications and Innovation Shawn Nthaile acting as finance minister in his absence.
JN/APA