China donates meteorological mobile station to Botswana in December 2023

On November 9, 2020, the Chinese Ambassador and Botswana's Ministry of Environment and Tourism signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to help Botswana better address climate change.

The MOU outlined provisions for the donation of a Multi-Satellite Integrated Meteorological Satellite Data Mobile Receiving system.

The MOU fell under the Belt and Road South-South Cooperation Plan on Climate Change proposed by China at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing on April 27, 2019.

In April 2023, the station, valued at BWP 31 million and provided through the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) ) was shipped from China.

A ceremony that was held for its send off in Beijing was attended by Zhao Yingmin, Vice Minister of China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and Dr. Batlang C. Serema, Ambassador of Botswana to China. The station arrived in Gaborone on September 25, 2023.

The station would be used to detect and monitor extreme or hazardous weather events as well as help track satellite data acquisition and imaging and processing.

Furthermore, during the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 28) that was held from November 30 to December 12, China and Botswana signed the acceptance letter for the Meteorological Mobile Station.

Then on December 21, 2023, the Meteorological Mobile Station was handed over to the Botswana Ministry of Environment's Department of Meteorological Services.

The event was attended by Chinese ambassador Wang Xuefeng, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism Grace Muzila, officials from the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Botswana, and Batswana meteorological experts and scholars.

Moreover, a Botswana engineering team, IT personnel, and meteorologists completed on-site training by Space Star Technology in China.