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A presidential visit to Muscat has produced a package of agreements that goes well beyond diplomatic protocol, with Botswana and Oman signing deals on solar energy, mineral exploration and oil storage infrastructure that reflect a shared strategic logic as both countries need to diversify and both see the other as part of the answer.
President Duma Boko presided over the signings with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, with agreements spanning a joint mineral exploration deal targeting copper, gold, graphite and iron ore across roughly 70% of Botswana’s currently unexplored territory, a 500-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant with battery storage to be developed by NAQAA Sustainable Energy, a subsidiary of Oman’s state-owned O-Green and an oil storage infrastructure deal between Botswana Oil Limited and OQ S.A.O.C covering facilities at Walvis Bay in Namibia and within Botswana itself.
The solar plant, which carries a minimum operational life of 25 years, is central to Botswana’s ambition to increase renewable energy’s share of its power supply from 8% today to 50% by 2030. The presidency described it as positioning Botswana “to secure its energy future and unlock long-term economic value”. The urgency behind these deals is not difficult to read. Botswana’s diamond revenues which typically account for around a third of national income have fallen sharply as the global market has been weakened by economic uncertainty and the rapid rise of lab-grown stones.
S&P Global Ratings downgraded the country’s sovereign credit rating in March, citing structural weakness in global diamond demand. The Oman agreements represent the most concrete expression yet of Botswana’s determination to build economic relationships that outlast the diamond cycle. Botswana also has its eye on increasing its stake in De Beers, which is majority-owned by Anglo American with Botswana holding 15%, as the diamond industry navigates a prolonged downturn.
For Oman, whose own economy is oil-dependent but benefiting from the current price surge driven by Middle East conflict, the diversification logic is equally compelling. The partnership marks a growing strategic corridor between the Gulf and southern Africa, one that is likely to deepen further as both regions compete for relevance in a rapidly changing global resource landscape.
