President Cyril Ramaphosa will host Botswana’s President Dr Mokgweetsi Eric Masisi during the fifth Bi-National Commission of Cooperation (BNC) on Friday.

The meeting will see discussion of international issues of mutual interest and will be used to reaffirm bilateral relations and enhance cooperation within the framework of the BNC.

The BNC, established in 2010, is made up of a Political and Diplomatic Committee; a Defence and Security Committee; an Economic Committee and a Social Committee.

Since the establishment of the BNC, South Africa and Botswana have strengthened their bilateral cooperation in various sectoral areas, resulting in the signing of 38 agreements and memoranda of understanding.

The BNC Agreement has since transformed the Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation into a fully-fledged BNC, resulting in Botswana becoming one of the few countries with which South Africa has a structured framework of bilateral cooperation at Head of State and/or government level.