Botswana and Germany maintain excellent bilateral relations. The two countries are reliable partners within the United Nations and share common values.

Visits by Botswanan President Seretse Khama Ian Khama to Berlin in 2017 and by Federal Minister Gerd Müller to Botswana in August 2018, as well as a state visit by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in November 2018, were highlights of bilateral political relations. Botswana has had an Embassy in Berlin since autumn 2013. The German Embassy in Gaborone opened in 1975.

A delegation from the Bundestag Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy visited Botswana in February 2019. The visit focused mainly on vocational training, the outlook for Botswana’s economic diversification and renewable energy.

Trade between Germany and Botswana is modest, as is German direct investment in the country. Meat products are Botswana’s main export to Germany, while Germany’s principal exports to Botswana are machinery, motor vehicles and electrical products. Botswana sources the majority of its imports from South Africa, including many German products that do not appear in bilateral trade statistics, however.

Owing to its classification as an upper middle income country, Botswana is no longer a recipient of bilateral German development funds.

Projects in the area of vocational education are being continued, however, some of which are co-funded by the Botswana Government and the Botswana Chamber of Mines, covering 70 percent of the overall costs. Botswana also benefits from projects of the German Government’s International Climate Initiative (focus on agriculture and solar technology). The cooperation of the EU and Germany with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), whose secretariat is located in Botswana, offers the country further benefits.