Weeks after entering an agreement with leading diamond group De Beers, southwest African nation Botswana said it will turn country’s capital Gaborone a diamond hub by 2013.

Earlier this month, Botswana and De Beers signed a ten year contract to form Debswana for the sorting, valuing and sales of country’s diamond production.

Debswana is a 50/50 mining joint venture between Botswana and De Beers.

As per the deal, the mining and sales empire will transfer the sorting, valuing and selling of rough diamonds from London to Gaborone by the end of 2013.

The agreement also provides for Botswana to sell 10 percent of its diamonds independently of De Beers, rising to 15 percent in five years' time

Analysts said the milestone deal will help transform Botswana into one of the world's leading diamond trading and manufacturing hubs.

De Beers will relocate its Sights and sales operations including professionals, skills, equipment and technology from London to Gaborone by the end of 2013.

From its new base in Botswana, the DTC will aggregate production from De Beers' mines and its joint venture operations worldwide and sell to international Sightholders.

De Beers said it has secured long-term and uninterrupted access to the largest supply of diamonds in the world and expects demand for diamonds in China, India and the Gulf to match that in the United States

Africa's failure to add value to resources within their countries of production has long been identified as a major hindrance to the continent's growth.

The average value of Botswana's own rough diamond production at $3 billion a year, suggesting that $300 to $350 million's worth of diamonds could be sold independently

In addition, the agreement provides for an independent sales outlet for the Botswana Government, which will begin this year at 10 percent of Debswana's run of mine production and rise to 15 percent over a five year period.

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