GABORONE, March 18, 2008 (AFP) - Botswana President Festus Mogae will on Wednesday begin a two-day visit to France at the invitation of President Nicolas Sarkozy, Foreign Affairs Minister Mompati Merafhe said Tuesday.
"President Mogae was invited by French President Sarkozy to exchange views on issues of mutual benefit to the two countries," Merafhe told AFP.
During the official visit, the two heads of state will discuss issues such as development in Africa, conflict resolution and democracy on the continent as well as Botswana's fight against HIV/AIDS, the minister said.
The AIDS pandemic which has swept across southern Africa has exacted a particularly harsh toll in Botswana during Mogae's term in office, leading him to warn in 2001 that "we are threatened with extinction".
Around 270,000 of Botswana's about two million population are living with HIV but after embarking on a huge programme to provide sufferers with anti-retroviral drugs, only 8.5 percent of patients have died in the last five years.
"We attach serious importance to the visit and we are glad that French policy now is not concentrating on the Francophone countries alone," he also said.
Botswana is a former British colony which gained independence 42 years ago.
French and Botswana officials will sign a cooperation agreement on the teaching of French in the southern African country during the visit, state-run Daily News newspaper reported here.
Mogae is leaving office at the end of this month at the end of a 10-year tenure.
080318
AF080323
Copyright ©AFP 2008. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Gill Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Quest Diagnostics, Roche and Trimeris, and donations from users like you.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. This article first appeared in 2008. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2008. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.