Botswana’s government on Tuesday signed a long-delayed diamonds sales agreement with Anglo American unit De Beers, saying it hoped it would create jobs at a time when the economy is in a slump.

Negotiations over the deal started in 2018.

In 2023, the two sides provisionally agreed terms under Botswana’s previous president, but they never formally signed an agreement.

New President, Duma Boko, who swept to power last October, made signing the deal with De Beers a priority.

The deal is critical to Botswana’s fortunes, as the Southern African country’s economy is largely dependent on the export of diamonds.

“We have us a good deal and we trust that it will carry us into the future. To the people of Botswana, this agreement is about you, about the jobs it will create,” Botswana’s President Duma Boko said at a signing ceremony in the capital Gaborone.

The terms of the deal are broadly aligned with those agreed in 2023.

Botswana will increase the share of rough stones it gets from its Debswana joint venture with De Beers to 50% over the next decade, whereas it has been getting 25%.

Debswana’s mining licence will be extended for 25 years until 2054.

Botswana’s economy is believed to have contracted last year because of a prolonged downturn in the global diamond market.

As well as declining demand and a supply glut, rough diamond prices have fallen because of the rising popularity of lab-grown diamonds and a shift by younger consumers away from the precious stone.

But the government hopes the economy will rebound this year because of an improvement in the global diamond market and a better performance of other sectors.

VIDEO | Botswana’s President, Duma Boko meets with De Beers 3 months ago