BOTSWANA’S President Duma Boko has travelled to Oman to sign cooperation agreements and advance his country’s efforts to acquire a controlling stake in diamond giant De Beers, said Bloomberg News.
Boko will hold talks with Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said through Tuesday, Bloomberg said citing the president’s office. The two leaders will also witness the signing of three agreements covering solar energy, minerals and oil partnerships.
The visit comes as the April 16 deadline for bids on the 85% stake in De Beers being sold by Anglo American approaches. Despite strained public finances, Botswana has not abandoned its ambition to take control of De Beers, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg.
Botswana already holds a 15% stake in De Beers, which mines the bulk of its diamonds in the country. Boko said in September that Botswana was in discussions with an Omani sovereign wealth fund to help finance a controlling stake acquisition.
De Beers, which Anglo American is selling as part of a broader restructuring, is regarded as strategically vital to Botswana, where diamonds underpin a significant portion of government revenue and export earnings. Securing majority ownership would represent a major shift in the balance of control over one of the world’s most important diamond producers.
The Omani connection signals Botswana’s intent to secure Gulf capital to overcome its fiscal constraints, though it remains unclear whether a formal bid has been lodged ahead of this week’s deadline.
