On the afternoon of November 29, Botswana Ambassador Mr. Sasara C. George visited SPPM. Our school’s Dean Prof. Xue Lan warmly welcomed the Ambassador and met with him in the VIP room. Shortly afterward, the Ambassador delivered a speech entitled “Botswana’s Development and the Budding Relationship between China and Botswana”. The lecture was hosted by Professor Xue Lan and attended by our school’s visiting scholar Professor Constance Freeman, Assistant Dean Ms. Meng Bo, Professor Wei Xing, as well as IMPA students, MID students, and faculty that in total numbered around 40 people.
In his speech, Mr. George introduced the basic situation and historical background of Botswana and how regional and international firms in the country now play a key role in the evolution in Chinese-Botswana relations. After the speech, Mr. George and faculty and students had a lively discussion regarding China-Africa relations, regional cooperation in Africa, and many other pertinent topics. Professor Freeman and Professor Weixing also made comments on the speech from the perspective of their own personal research.
Mr. George Sasara graduated from the Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland University with a degree in political science and administration before joining the Botswana Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 35 years of diplomatic work, Mr. George has served as Chief of Protocol, High Commissioner and Ambassador to several European countries. In January 2011 he became the Botswana Ambassador to China.
