Botswana ready to send "good number" of cheetahs to India, says MEA ahead of President Murmu's visit

Addressing a special press briefing, MEA Secretary (Economic Relations) Sudhakar Dalela stated that discussions with Botswana on wildlife conservation and biodiversity cooperation have made significant progress.

"We have already been working with Namibia and South Africa as part of our shared commitment to conservation and biodiversity protection. In addition to Namibia and South Africa, we have been talking to Botswana for some time, and they have indicated their readiness to work with us in this area," Dalela said.

"I would not like to give you a number, but certainly it will be a good number that we are hoping for. And I also feel that they will be moving to India very soon," he added.

Project Cheetah is India's ambitious initiative to reintroduce the world's fastest land animal. Currently, India has 27 cheetahs, comprising 11 translocated from South Africa and Namibia in two separate batches, and 16 born in India. The flagship Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh remains the core hub, covering 748 sq km of inviolate habitat within a larger 3,500 sq km cheetah-compatible landscape.

The announcement came as the MEA confirmed that President Droupadi Murmu will undertake a state visit to Angola and Botswana from November 8 to 13, marking the first-ever visit by an Indian head of state to the two African nations.

Dalela noted that the President's visit reflects India's growing engagement with countries of the Global South, particularly in Africa, across political, economic, developmental, and cultural dimensions.

He said that during the visit, India expects to finalise Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in key areas, including health, fisheries, and capacity building.

"We do hope that we can concretise these MoUs before the visit of the President. There would also be some announcements," he said.

Dalela added that India has been encouraging its African partners to join various multilateral and regional initiatives launched by New Delhi, such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), Global Biofuel Alliance, and the International Big Cat Alliance.

"We are very hopeful that during the visit of the President, Angola and Botswana will indicate some positive movement on our request for them to join and partner with us in these regional contexts," he said.

President Murmu's visit to Angola from November 8 to 11 and Botswana from November 11 to 13 is expected to strengthen India's partnerships in the African continent, focusing on areas such as trade, investment, technology, health, energy, and wildlife conservation--a key pillar of the growing India-Africa cooperation. (ANI)