On Europe Day we celebrated the 74th anniversary of Schuman Declaration as the foundation of European Union, which is a union of peace, unity and building a better future. EU Ambassador Petra Pereyra underlined that at its heart, European Union remains a peace project. As such, it has been a very successful one and it remains today as relevant as ever.

EU Ambassador Petra Pereyra stressed that the decades’ long EU–Botswana partnership is based on shared values of peace, prosperity, democracy and respect for human rights. In these areas, the active role of the civil society, free media and academia is also absolutely crucial. Regional integration being the DNA of European Union, Europe Day was also a celebration of our partnership with SADC as EU remains the main contributor to regional integration in Southern Africa.  

This year’s Europe Day was dedicated to protection of biodiversity, conservation, livelihoods and green jobs as key pillar of our partnership with both Botswana and SADC. This theme was very timely, given the region is hit by historic drought and highest average temperatures since 1960’s. Botswana’s rich biodiversity and wildlife are among the main assets for economic diversification, for developing of the growing tourism sector and for creation of green jobs. During the Europe Day celebration, guest could take a virtual reality tour of the beautiful landscapes of Okavango Delta, and visit stands of EU partners working on conservation and green jobs.