A meeting of Head of the International Cooperation Department of JINR D.V.Kamanin with Minister of Education of the Republic of Botswana Mrs. Unity Dow was held on 26 February 2016 with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Gaborone. This meeting is a continuation of the visit to the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) in December 2015.

The BIUST was represented at the meeting by Acting Vice Chancellor of the University Professor John A. Cooke and Provost & Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor Dennis A. Siginer; the meeting was also attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation in Botswana Victor I. Sibilev. The minister of Education of the Republic Botswana listened to a presentation of the JINR representative on the principles of the organization and the major directions of JINR activity; she welcomed the early start of implementation of the memorandum on first steps in the organization of cooperation signed in December 2015 and kindly agreed to accept the invitation to visit JINR in the nearest future. Participants of the meeting discussed possible ways of further development of contacts between JINR and BIUST and necessary measures to support them.

On the same day, the JINR representative visited the Secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and met with Director of Policy Planning and Resource Mobilization Angelo Eduardo Mondlane. The meeting was also attended by representatives of BIUST and the RF Embassy. The meeting was devoted to the dissemination of information on scientific, technical and educational potential of JINR among interested organizations and universities of the countries of the southern African region and the possibility of organizing interaction with the mediation of SADC, including support for projects with participation of JINR on the basis of BIUST. Mr. Mondlane showed interest in continuing contacts and positively appraised the opportunity of a reconnaissance visit of the SADC delegation to JINR.