14 Mar 2022

Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) and Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) have signed an MoU that would expose Botswana diamonds to lucrative markets around the world.
Signed by ODC managing director, Mr Mmetla Masire and DMCC chief operations officer, Ms Feryal Ahmadi in the presence of President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi and the Botswana delegation yesterday, the MoU would enable the two entities to exchange knowledge and skills to ensure Botswana got good deals for its diamonds as well as possible exposure to other opportunities in the diamond value chain.
In an interview, Mr Masire described the MoU as a milestone in the diamond industry because of the Dubai company’s competitive strategy.
Associating with DMCC would give ODC priority in all its endeavours as well as to raise the company’s profile, he said adding that Dubai was becoming the centre of diamond viewing therefore it was important for the company to be visible where the centre of gravity was.
“This MoU is important because whenever we want to do viewing in Dubai, we will be given priority at any given time,” said Mr Masire.
He stated that the collaboration would also ensure that the two companies cooperated on Kimberley Process  related issues since as a government entity, ODC was responsible for preventing the flow of conflict diamonds.
Mr Masire revealed that currently, the sale of diamonds was marred by diverse issues therefore the collaboration would enable information sharing.
“We will also share privileged information going forward because initially we had an informal arrangement that was not binding,” he stated.
DMCC is a leading centre for trading in international commodities and the world’s fastest-growing free zone and home to major multinationals and start-ups.
Through DMCC facilitation,  ODC last year made a record diamond sale worth $110 million or about P1.1 billion in one day during the ongoing 2020 Dubai Expo which ends March 31.ENDS