According to the President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, his country “will not back down from asking for a larger share of the diamonds produced by its joint venture with De Beers, raising the stakes in negotiations to renew a sales agreement that expires in June.
Debswana, the joint venture between Botswana and De Beers, mines diamonds. De Beers buys three-quarters of Debswana's production, which was 24 million carats in 2022. The rest is sold to the state-owned Okavango Diamond Corporation (ODC), which was established under the current sales contract in 2011 when Botswana tried to trading jewelry outside of the De Beers system.
Noting that 70% of De Beers' rough diamonds are produced in Botswana, President Masisi last month threatened to withdraw from talks to extend the sales agreement unless Botswana receives a larger share of the joint venture's output. , adding that the 54-year joint venture agreement has deprived Botswana of the ability to market its own diamonds.
“Other than the fact that the diamonds are ours, it makes no sense for us to keep relegating ourselves to participating only in rough space. So it stands to reason that we want more and we're going to get more.
But through negotiation", said the President. De Beers CEO, Al Cook, said it was "very clear that, above all, in the President's mind is the interest of the people of Botswana. We, as De Beers, want play our part in a strong and strategic partnership. I am very confident that this partnership will move forward in a very good way".
