Botswana, Angola focus on reviving diamond demand
Mbongeni Mguni | Wednesday November 12, 2025 06:00
The two countries, which are the continent’s leading producers of diamonds, recently announced that they are both seeking majority stakes in De Beers, the diamond giant in which Anglo American is selling its 85% stake.
However, following a meeting in Gaborone, Minerals and Energy minister, Bogolo Kenewendo and her Angolan counterpart, Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, said they were “perfectly aligned” in their positions on the De Beers stake.
“We're working on intra-Africa relations, trade relations, and we need to ensure that those principles also trickle down to diamonds,” Kenewendo told MonitorBusiness exclusively after the meeting. “All we can comment on for now is we have a good partnership, good collaboration,' she said. “We are partners and we intend to stay that way for the next foreseeable future.”
“Most important is to ensure that we are working on stimulating the market together,” she added.
Diamond mining contributes about a third of Botswana’s Gross Domestic Product and the bulk of annual foreign currency receipts. The contraction in the economy last year and the continuation of that trend forecast for this year are both largely the result of lower diamond activity and sales since the third quarter of 2023.
In June, Botswana, Angola, as well as other African diamond producers and companies, signed the Luanda Accord in which they agreed to contribute one percent of their revenues from diamonds to a collaborative marketing campaign under the Natural Diamond Council.
Azevedo told MonitorBusiness that the campaign was critical for both countries’ economies.
“We signed the Luanda Accord some months back, and we discussed all things related to the marketing of the diamond,” he said. “We agreed that we'll do everything that is in our hands to maintain the natural diamond, as that must be for the sake of the countries and our population, and we have a proper strategy to do that.”
He added: “There is engagement from both countries, aligning all other producing countries and the other stakeholders of the industry. “We are really properly engaged to go ahead with all the measures that we need to take to protect the natural diamond.”
Botswana is the world’s largest producer of diamonds by value, whilst Angola’s output is rising rapidly, as operations are established following decades of civil war. Botswana contributes two-thirds of De Beers’ annual output, whilst Angola is viewed as the most prospective country in terms of untapped diamond resources.
Anglo American is expected to soon finalise an initial shortlist of bidders for its stake in De Beers. Besides Botswana and Angola, other suitors mentioned for the stake include groups led by former De Beers executives.