Botswana Embassy Delegation Visit to NAIST (May 18, 2023)

 On Thursday, May 18, from the Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana, H.E. Major General Gotsileene Morake (Rtd), with a delegation from the Republic of Botswana embassy visited NAIST.

 At the courtesy visit, Dr. Kazuhiro Shiozaki (President), Dr. Jun Ota (Vice President for International Affairs), and Mr. Robert King (UEA Chief, Center for International Students and Scholars) welcomed the delegation.

 Ambassador Morake expressed his hope to utilize Nara Institute of Science and Technology's knowledge and experience to improve agricultural productivity, an issue facing Botswana, and they exchanged opinions on the possibility of future collaboration. Finally, the participants exchanged commemorative gifts, from NAIST, a couple of Awamori bottles (Okinawa rice wine), the result of joint research by bioscience division, and from , a decorative ostrich egg were exchanged. This gift exchange was a great hit.

 The group then moved to the Bioscience Complex to visit Professor Satoko Yoshida of the Plant Symbiosis Laboratory. She explained her research on symbiosis with crops while preventing agricultural damage caused by striga, a plant native to Africa, and there was a lively discussion about how this research could be applied to Botswana. They also toured the laboratory facilities and exchanged words with NAIST students.

 Both institutions expect this visit will serve as further stimulation of our educational and research collaborations.