Media reports in Botswana say President Mokgweetsi Masisi
is planning to meet President Mnangagwa, with whom he enjoys good relations, to
deliberate on the proposal to allow nationals of the two countries to use
national identity cards (IDs) to enter either jurisdiction. Currently, citizens
from both countries require passports for cross-border travel. According to the
media reports, President Masisi told democrats attending the Boteti West constituency
celebrations that he was expecting to pitch the idea to President Mnangagwa
when they meet.
“President Mokgweetsi Masisi has just revealed that in a
few months’ time, he will be meeting his Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson
Mnangagwa on a visit where he will make sure they discuss the use of identity
cards for border crossing among the two countries,” wrote a Botswana newspaper.
Last month, President Masisi and the Namibian President
Hage Geingob signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to permit citizens of
the two republics to use IDs to cross borders.
President Masisi said the same bilateral initiatives would
be rolled out to other neighbouring countries that share borders with his
country.
Botswana and Zimbabwe have a shared history, culture and
family ties that pre-date the two countries’ diplomatic relations which were
formally established in 1983. Herald
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