Mukherjee greets Botswana on Independence Day

President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday greeted the people of the southern African republic of Botswana on their Independence Day.

"On behalf of the government and people of India, as well as on my own behalf, it gives me great pleasure to convey to the people of Botswana, my warm felicitations on the occasion of your Independence Day," Mukherjee said in a message to his Botswana counterpart Seretse Khama Ian Khama.

"India and Botswana share close and friendly relations, which have been expanding in recent years, to the mutual benefit of both our peoples. I am confident that the relations between our two countries will further strengthen in the years to come," he added.

Botswana, which was a British protectorate, became an independent country on September 30, 1966.