STAFF WRITER
Namibia and Botswana have raised concern over the dwindling diamond revenues which contributes significantly to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The two countries agreed to find strategies to propel the industry which forms the backbone of their countries.
“The Heads of State expressed concern about the negative effects of the decline in diamond revenue, a significant contributor to the economies of both Namibia and Botswana. In this regard, they welcomed the Commission’s decision to develop joint strategies to safeguard the competitiveness of natural diamonds, while exploring collaborative initiatives in the sector,” the two countries said in a joint communique after the meeting of their second Namibia-Botswana Bi-national commission this week.
The Bi-national commission saw both high level engagement between the two countries’s technocrats as well as Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and Duma Boko of Botswana.
They committed to working together economically and at a bilateral level.
Nandi-Ndaitwah and Boko acknowledged the significant achievements made since the Inaugural Session of the BNC, including the use of National Identity Cards as travel documents from 24 February 2023, the commencement of 24-hour operations at the Trans-Kalahari/Mamuno Border Post from 1 April 2023, strengthened Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) to enhance peaceful coexistence and good neighbourliness along the common border as well as the operationalisation of the One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) at the Trans- Kalahari/Mamuno Border Post from 2 September 2024.
The two governments also agreed to the supply of more than 3.8 million doses of vaccines for Foot-and-Mouth Disease from Botswana to Namibia, valued at N$60.7 million and the commencement of the Trans-Kalahari Railway Full Feasibility Study in April 2025 scheduled for completion in March 2026.
“ The two governments also agreed to enhancing cooperation on environmental conservation, including joint patrols and projects under the KAZA-TFCA, and the finalisation of the Code of Conduct for the Kwando/Linyanti/Chobe River in June 2025, progress in combating corruption through the Namibia Anti-Corruption Commission and the Botswana Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, in line with the MoU on Cooperation in Combating Corruption, signed in August 2021; and the issuance of a licence by Namibia,” the two governments said.
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