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DE RUEHOR #0948 3021305
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R 281305Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY GABORONE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5343
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
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RUEHOR/USDAO GABORONE BC

UNCLAS GABORONE 000948 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID KHIV BC
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON FOREIGN MINISTER SKELEMANI 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET POSTING. 
PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Ambassador Nolan paid his initial courtesy 
call on Botswana's Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani on 
October 27.  The Ambassador stressed his intention to 
strengthen the already warm bilateral relationship between 
the U.S. and Botswana.  Minister Skelemani thanked the USG 
for our assistance, especially under the PEPFAR program.  In 
addition, he praised the work of the International Law 
Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in helping to foster rule of law 
in Africa, and asked for continued military-military 
cooperation.  Zimbabwe was also a main topic of discussion 
(septel).  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) Ambassador Nolan paid his initial courtesy call on 
Botswana's Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani on October 27 in 
the Minister's office.  Ambassador was accompanied by DCM and 
Pol/Econ Chief, while Skelemani was accompanied by his 
private secretary and the MFA's Deputy Director for the 
Americas.  The Ambassador told the Minister how delighted he 
is to be in Botswana and explained that he hopes to travel 
around the country and get to know it well.  He explained 
that American interest in Botswana is strong and growing, in 
part due to the success of the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective 
Agency" books and the soon-to-be released film.  The 
Ambassador noted the many private partnerships between U.S. 
institutions (including Harvard, Baylor, and University of 
Pennsylvania) and Botswana and said he hopes to encourage and 
facilitate such non-governmental interactions between our two 
nations. 
 
¶3. (U) Minister Skelemani thanked the USG for our continued 
assistance to Botswana, most notably our large contributions 
to HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment under the 
President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). 
Skelemani explained that he had personally witnessed the way 
that PEPFAR has changed the landscape in Botswana.  The 
Minister said that a few years ago, his village of around 
3000 people would hold 2 or 3 funerals each weekend for 
adults in the prime of life killed by AIDS.  Now thanks to 
increased access to treatment, Skelemani explained, the death 
rate has slowed tremendously.  However, Skelemani noted that 
the treatment success may bring a new danger, as it could 
allow people to "forget" about the AIDS pandemic.  He pledged 
that education and prevention activities must continue, but 
thanked the Bush administration for PEPFAR, explaining that 
the program has had a personal and lasting impact on the 
people of Botswana. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Foreign Minister brought up the good work being 
done by the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in 
Otse.  He discussed at length his worry about lack of respect 
for rule of law in Africa, and explained that he is proud to 
have law enforcement officials from other African nations not 
only well-trained at ILEA but exposed to Botswana and its 
democratic tradition.  He noted that ILEA training helps to 
instill in the law enforcement officers that they have not 
only great power, but also great responsibility.  Minister 
Skelemani also commented on the need for continued 
military-military contact between the United States and 
defense forces around Africa.  Skelemani worried that many of 
the African region's leaders still have military or 
revolutionary backgrounds.  He noted that one lesson soldiers 
take away from contact with the U.S. military or other 
western military forces is respect for rule of law and 
civilian authority. 
NOLAN