The high-level talks between Botswana\u2019s Minister of Mines, Lefoko Moagi, and Angola\u2019s Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas, Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, were part of broader discussions on collaboration in the diamond, energy, and logistics sectors. The meeting comes as global diamond prices continue to fall, placing pressure on economies that rely heavily on the precious stone.<\/p>\n
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Botswana, which holds a 15% stake in De Beers and supplies around 70% of its rough diamonds, considers the company a strategic national asset. Angola, meanwhile, has now moved beyond its earlier interest in a minority stake, tabling a bid for majority ownership, a move that could set up a competitive contest between the two Southern African producers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Political Economist Kevin Tutani said a potential takeover by the two governments would have major implications for the region. \u201cIf Botswana and Angola manage to gain control of De Beers, it would embolden Southern African governments to take greater ownership of their mineral wealth,\u201d he explained. \u201cDiamonds account for around 90% of Botswana\u2019s exports and nearly 30% of its gross domestic product, so it\u2019s understandable that Gaborone would want more control.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, Tutani cautioned that any attempt to increase ownership must be carried out responsibly. \u201cThis determination to have greater control should be within reasonable means, not through abrupt or aggressive measures that could damage investor confidence,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n
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Angola\u2019s Ministry of Mines confirmed that both countries had expressed interest in acquiring shares in De Beers but did not provide further details.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Analysts believe that whether the two countries pursue collaboration or competition, the outcome will reshape Africa\u2019s influence in the global diamond trade. \u201cThis could mark a new era of assertiveness in Africa\u2019s resource economy,\u201d Tutani said, \u201cwith Botswana and Angola taking the lead in redefining how the continent manages its mineral wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13385,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-14958","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The Mining Ministers of Botswana and Angola have met in Gaborone to discuss closer co-operation in the diamond industry as both nations explore ways to jointly acquire control of De Beers, the diamond giant currently owned by Anglo American.","published_date":null,"news_description":"The Mining Ministers of Botswana and Angola have met in Gaborone to discuss closer co-operation in the diamond industry as both nations explore ways to jointly acquire control of De Beers, the diamond giant currently owned by Anglo American.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19397,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14958\/revisions\/19397"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=14958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}