Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Botswana, Air Chief Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa (Retd), presented his Letters of Credence to President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko at the President’s Office in Gaborone on 3 November.
Rajapaksa, who is based in Pretoria, South Africa, conveyed the greetings of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to President Boko, the Daily Mirror reported on Thursday.
What was discussed
Rajapaksa reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation with Botswana, and raised opportunities to expand cooperation in trade, investment, education, tourism, capacity-building and people-to-people exchanges.
He briefed President Boko on Sri Lanka’s recent economic developments, recovery efforts and sustainable development initiatives.
The two also discussed cooperation at international forums — the United Nations, the Commonwealth and the Group of 77 — and the importance of South-South cooperation in addressing shared challenges.
President Boko welcomed the new High Commissioner and said Botswana was willing to strengthen relations with Sri Lanka.
The appointee
Rajapaksa served in the Sri Lanka Air Force for 37 years and was its 19th Commander — one of a number of senior retired officers appointed to Sri Lankan diplomatic missions in recent years.
His residence in Pretoria rather than Gaborone reflects standard practice for smaller missions: the High Commissioner is accredited to Botswana on a non-resident basis from the South African post.
Both countries are Commonwealth members, which is what makes the posting a High Commission rather than an embassy and the credentials Letters of Credence presented to the head of state.
Not reported
The filing does not say when Rajapaksa was appointed, whom he succeeded, or what other countries he is accredited to from Pretoria.
It does not give the current value of trade between Sri Lanka and Botswana, name any specific agreement under discussion, or record whether any concrete initiative emerged from the meeting. It also does not report whether Sri Lanka maintains any resident presence in Botswana.
