Representatives of the Indian Diamond Institute (IDI) are in Botswana, working on arrangements for the India-Africa Diamond Institute, a diamond trade training center to be established in Oodi, the local Mmegi.bw news site reports.

The institute is being founded under the auspices of a partnership between India and the African Union, which also calls for the IDI to set up 19 other professional training facilities across Africa.

Last year, Botswana beat out other major diamond producers such as South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe when it won the bid to serve as a home for the IADI, which is expected to provide diamond industry training and services for the entire continent of Africa.

According to Mmegi, the 16 diamond cutting and polishing firms currently operating in Botswana employed 3,178 workers before being forced to downsize after the global financial crisis. As diamond production picked up throughout 2010, the number of diamond sector workers has climbed to approximately 3,000.

In 2010, Botswana exported $3.01 billion worth of diamonds, and its diamond exports for January 2011 totaled $354.3 million, a 136.8% month-on-month increase and a 40.3% jump over the corresponding month of 2010.