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De Beers upbeat on Botswana diamond pact after meeting brand-new president

De Beers' CEO said he anticipated settlements on a brand-new diamond sales pact with Botswana's federal government to be concluded within weeks, after meeting the nation's brand-new president.

De Beers, a system of Anglo American, last year agreed a brand-new sales pact with Botswana, the world's top diamond manufacturer by worth, but it has yet to be signed.

Botswana's new President Duma Boko has

criticised

his predecessor's handling of the settlements with De Beers, saying the relationship might have been damaged and the company had considered leaving.

Both sides are extremely positive that we will reach positioning on those contracts very shortly. The groups are actively working out, De Beers CEO Al Cook said in a video clip posted on Facebook by Botswana's presidency.

We see negotiations concluding in days and weeks, not months and years, Cook included.

Boko won last month's election by a

landslide

, defeating the celebration that had actually ruled the southern African country for almost six years.

Previous president Mokgweetsi Masisi touted the merits of the offer his administration agreed with De Beers in 2015, under which Botswana's share of diamonds from its Debswana joint endeavor with the company would gradually increase over the next decade.

Cook stated the spirit of the conference with Boko was among renewed energy.

What we concurred is that the world's leading diamond nation, the Republic of Botswana, and the world's leading diamond company, De Beers, will stand shoulder-to-shoulder in marketing and developing desire for natural diamonds, he said.

Individually on Thursday, Boko picked previous minister of trade and industry Bogolo Happiness Kenewendo as minister of minerals and energy in his new cabinet.

Botswana's economy is still mainly based on the export of diamonds, and a decline in the international diamond market means financial growth is forecasted to

sluggish

dramatically this year.

Installing financial grievances, especially among young people, were a crucial factor behind Boko's election win, analysts say.

(source: Reuters)