Namibia, alongside Botswana and Angola, is set to meet with G7 countries over the decision to require all producers to send their diamonds to Belgium for certification.
The three countries had written a letter to the G7 in March, expressing disagreement and saying this bypasses the established Kimberly certification process.
President Nangolo Mbumba shared the latest developments during a courtesy call by Debmarine Chief Executive Officer Willy Mertens and Natural Diamonds brand ambassador Lupita Nyongo at State House.
In March, the G7 grouping, comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US, decided that all diamonds entering their markets be sent to Antwerp in Belgium for certification.
The new requirement is meant to ascertain the origin of the diamonds and prevent those mined in Russia from entering G7 markets.
Namibia, Botswana, and Angola protested the move because it undermines the existing Kimberley certification protocols to remove diamonds sourced from conflict zones.
"We need the money from our diamonds to do the things that people need, and now you are telling us that we have to wait for the diamonds all the way from SA, Namibia, Botswana, and Angola to first go to Europe to be checked. No, if you want to check, come to us and check. Now they are willing to at least listen to us, and we are ready to meet them because this is our natural product, this is our wealth, and if we cannot protect it like diamonds, what else can we do? So hopefully we will have a system that is really reasonable, not dictated by others, and not influenced by conflict that is not ours either."
Debmarine Namibia's CEO, Willy Mertens, agrees with the stance of the diamond-producing countries.
"The biggest thing on which we agree is the traceability of the diamonds, to be able to say where the diamond was produced. So when it gets to the finger, someone can take a scanner or barcode reader and look at the diamond and say, 'This diamond comes from Namibia', and it has made all these differences and has changed all of these lives."
The natural diamond industry equally faces stiff competition from lab-grown diamonds, especially in the big markets of China.
"We have seen that with the property crisis, Chinese people have lost their wealth, and when they now started getting back into the economy, most of them are focusing on gold, and we have seen the prices reaching, so that is where people are putting their money. So what we need to do is double our marketing to get people back to diamonds. It is going to take a bit of time; we are still at the bottom, but we believe that at the end of 2025, beginning on the 26th, we will see some light."
US-based Kenyan actress Nyongo has been promoting the use of natural diamonds.
"I was not aware of how wealthy and deep the history of diamonds goes until I joined the company. So to come and witness what the company is doing with the country has been eye-opening."
Nyongo was in Namibia as a guest of De Beers.