Botswana’s Vice President and Finance Minister, Ndaba Gaolathe, has wrapped up a two-week official visit to the United States, where he participated in the 2025 IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings.
He has now redirected his diplomatic efforts toward Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
While in the US, Gaolathe engaged in high-level talks with major global financial institutions and delivered speeches at MIT and George Washington University, underscoring Botswana’s commitment to economic reforms and highlighting the country's investment opportunities.
“These platforms provided the Vice President with a unique opportunity to present Botswana’s reform agenda and to reinforce the country’s position as a reliable and forward-thinking development partner,” as per the Botswana government statement published on Tuesday.
A major highlight of Vice President Gaolathe’s US visit was the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Luxembourg, designed to support Botswana’s ambitions to become a rising financial services hub in Africa.
After productive engagements with institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, OPEC Fund, and various Japanese development agencies, Gaolathe is now turning his focus to Europe, where he is scheduled to take part in key economic forums and investor meetings to further advance Botswana’s economic diplomacy.
Indeed, while in Switzerland, Vice President Gaolathe is set to deliver a keynote address at the St. Gallen Symposium, where he will present Botswana’s vision for building economic resilience amid global uncertainty.
Whereas in London, his agenda includes speaking at the Cambridge Africa Together Conference 2025 and leading a series of investment roundtables focused on key sectors such as financial services, renewable energy, critical minerals, and eco-tourism.
Gaolathe is scheduled to return to Botswana on 15th May. During his absence, Assistant Minister of Communications and Innovation, Shawn Nthaile, is serving as acting finance minister.