The 159-year-old debating chamber of the Cambridge Union Society has played host to some of history's most consequential leaders. From British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher to US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, the wood-panelled theatre has resounded to orators of world renown.
A year ago, Botswana's Vice-President and Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe might not have expected to find himself addressing the famous venue at the annual conference of the African Society of Cambridge University. But since then, there have been major changes in Botswana's governing structure.
Until November, the ruling Botswana Democratic Party had reigned supreme since the dawn of independence in 1966. But following President Duma Boko's stunning victory - propelled by his pledge to create 500,000 new jobs in five years - his deputy Gaolathe found himself launched into two senior offices, and onto the world stage.
Gaolathe looks at home during our conversation sitting on the Society's famous scarlet benches, under the watchful eyes of portraits of past Society presidents. But taking in the historic surroundings and basking in electoral success is far from his priority.
The honeymoon period which attended the election of Boko's Umbrella for Democratic Change is quickly drawing to a close. Just days after Boko's shock election win in November, President Donald Trump swept back into power in the United States - and set the world economy on a path of trade war, tariffs and turmoil.