Botswana's President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, made a brief one-day visit to Namibia just to touch base with President Hage Geingob on a number of bilateral issues between the two countries.

Apart from attending to serious matters affecting both Namibians and the Batswana in their official capacities, Presidents Geingob and Masisi enjoy a solid personal friendship characterised by respect and good neighbourliness.

Their personal bond often makes it easier for respective government ministries and agencies to fast-track the implementation of bilateral projects within a set period of time, as was the case with the use of IDs for travel between Namibia and Botswana this year.

Another is the extension of the operating hours at the Trans-Kalahari/Mamuno Border Post to 24 hours to boost trade and eliminate a number of other barriers to the creation of a one-stop shop.

Their approach to transparency in governance is often admired even by the oldest democracies, and the two countries are ranked top in Africa by Transparency International.

This time around, President Masisi came just to appraise himself of the well-being of President Geingob following a successful operation for aortic stenosis two weeks ago.

President Masisi kept to the size of his delegation, which included the Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Lemogang Kwape, and Thapelo Tsheole, the Chief Executive Officer of the Botswana Stock Exchange.

The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Namibia Stock Exchange, Alex Ulrich, and senior officials from the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation joined President Geingob for the brief meeting with President Masisi at State House.