De Beers to Jointly Host Botswana Development Conference

(IDEX Online News) – The De Beers Group of Companies is one of the co-hosts of an upcoming conference in Botswana that will explore the role of the country’s diamond industry in the socio-economic development of Botswana. It will also discuss how to safeguard the benefits of resource extraction for the future.

The Connecting Resources and Society conference, which will take place from November 23-24, is organized by Chatham House, a world-leading independent policy institute and will be hosted jointly by De Beers and the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources.

“Societies across the world are increasingly – and rightly – demanding more value from their natural resources,” said De Beers CEO Philippe Mellier.

“Our partnership with Botswana is one of the world’s most enduring and successful private-public partnerships, delivering significant benefits to the country. However, it is not a panacea and we look forward to exploring the lessons learnt and how these can be applied for the long-term prosperity not only of Botswana, but also for the benefit of other resource-rich nations around the globe.”

“Our stewardship of Botswana’s precious diamond resource has created huge opportunities for the country,” said Hon. Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Kitso Onkokame Mokaila.

“As diamonds have brought about significant national economic growth, we look forward to sharing our experiences and continuing the conversation on future development opportunities.”

The conference coincides with the publication of a report from De Beers exploring the socio-economic contribution to Botswana of its longstanding partnership with the government.

The conference sessions can be viewed at www.connectingresources2015.com