New Natural Diamond Prosperity for Botswana by Removing the Blemish of Russian Diamonds

Diamonds tell stories of love, inspiration, and development.  Botswana’s incredible diamonds-for-development story already inspires consumers in Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States when they ask about the provenance of their diamonds. With its legacy of good governance and democracy, Botswana diamonds can give consumers confidence their special purchases fund development, and not destruction.

From the outset of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the G7 and partners have stood together to condemn Russia’s violation of the UN Charter and the impact of Russia’s war on the rest of the world.  We remain united in our efforts to reduce the revenues Russia can access to finance its illegal aggression.  Our leaders have asked us to continue to impose coordinated sanctions and other economic actions to achieve this.

The G7 technical expert team is grateful for Botswana’s invitation to learn first-hand from the deep insights and expertise of Botswana and her leaders on this important topic, knowing that they are equally committed to the shared goal of establishing the provenance of diamonds to protect the reputation of the natural diamond industry and the economies of diamond producing countries.

We are grateful for Botswana’s commitment to continue this dialogue to ensure that the aspirations of Botswana to derive more value from beneficiation activities are not negatively impacted by these measures.  Indeed, we hope that streamlined access to G7 markets for Botswana exports will strengthen the country’s important efforts to ensure more diamonds are beneficiated here and more diamond industry jobs are created for Batswana.

While Botswana has not banned Russian diamonds, we want to continue consultations and build partnership between Botswana and the G7 for a thriving, responsible global diamond market.  As the world’s leading responsible natural diamond producer, Botswana has the opportunity to better distinguish the provenance of its diamonds on the global market, introduce the world to cutting-edge traceability technologies (including some already being perfected in Botswana), and celebrate the Botswana diamonds-for-development story.

Adler Aristilde, High Commission of Canada to the Republic of Botswana

Petra Pereyra, Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Botswana

Olivier Brochenin, Ambassador of France to the Republic of Botswana

Margit Hellwig-Bötte, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Botswana

Gianni Bardini, Ambassador of Italy to Botswana

Ohmori Setsuo, Ambassador of Japan to Botswana

Howard A. Van Vranken, Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Botswana

Sian Price, His Majesty’s British High Commissioner to the Republic of Botswana

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Embassy in Botswana.