Bilateral Relations - Austria and Botswana

Bilateral relations between Austria and Botswana are not very intense, but problems have never occured. The overlapping of the presidency of Botswana in SADC and the Austrian EU-Presidency in the first half of 2006 might contribute to an intensification.

After a major decline of exported products from Austria in the years 2000/2001 the trade volume went sharply downwards and amounted only to 995.000 Euro of Austrian exports and 80.000 Euro imports in 2004.

In the beginning of the year 2006 the Austrian Embassy is planning an exhibition on the explorer Dr. Emil Holub in cooperation with the Embassy of the Czech Republic. At the end of the 19th century he had drawn the first maps of Botswana.

There are no Austrian Development Cooperation projects in Botswana but Austria contributes substantively to the development cooperation within the European Union.

In early 2006, an exhibition on Dr. Emil Holub was shown in Gaborone and Francistown. It was organised jointly by the Czech Republic and Austria. The explorer Emil Holub drew the first maps of Botswana. Holub was a popular lecturer in his home country and wrote several books about his journeys. In 1891/92 he organised the “Big Africa Exhibition” in Prague and Vienna, which attracted international audience and consideration. His complete collection combines 13.000 objects and has been displayed in more than 500 museums worldwide.