6 January 2026
Botswana is ready to collaborate with Russia in the diamond sector to strengthen its economy, media reports cited Phenyo Butale, the African country’s international relations minister, as saying.
The partnership aims to diversify Botswana’s economy, Russia’s state-owned news agency TASS reported Sunday. The cooperation will focus on rare earth minerals and the diamond sector.
“We are a leader in diamond mining,” said Butale. “Currently, we are actively moving toward economic diversification.
We hope to utilise Russia’s knowledge and expertise in large-scale mining projects, as well as in processing industries to create added value. These are precisely the areas where we see opportunities for cooperation.”
Russia is also aiming to expand its presence in Africa amid the standoff with the West, according to Reuters.
Botswana has shown interest in expanding its current 15% stake in De Beers into a majority holding, as Anglo American is in the process of selling its 85% share in the company. However, pointing to Botswana’s economic challenges and strong reliance on diamonds, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cautioned against this due to waning demand for the precious stones.
Source: https://shorturl.at/xYAEw
