国内英语新闻:China, Botswana sign MoU on BRI cooperation

GABORONE, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- China and Botswana on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Botswana counterpart Lemogang Kwape signed the MoU between the two governments after their talks in Gaborone.

Wang said the BRI is an important international cooperation initiative and a public product provided by China to the international community.

The focus is to help developing countries strengthen infrastructure construction, better realize connectivity and enhance their independent development capabilities, he said.

The two countries signed an agreement on jointly building the BRI on Thursday, making Botswana the 46th partner country in Africa in BRI cooperation, said Wang.

This year coincides with the 46th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Botswana, which is a beautiful symbol, he said.

The joint construction of BRI will provide new opportunities for the two countries to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, expand new fields, open up new prospects, help Botswana's infrastructure construction and national modernization process, and better benefit the two peoples, he said.

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi and Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation Lemogang Kwape both congratulated on the signing of the agreement to jointly build the BRI, stressing that it is new progress in China-Botswana relations and will provide new impetus for the cooperation between the two countries.