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International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), hosted at the Almas Tower of DMCC. The South- East Asian Bourses were unable to attend due to the travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. The presidents who did not attend were given the possibility to follow the Conference via live streaming. The meeting saw the participation of the world leaders of the diamond sector. Besides bringing together the representatives of the WFDB and the IDMA, many topics were discussed. Personalities of the sector were invited to speak at the WFDB meeting, including the Angolan Minister of Mineral Resources, Petrol and Gas, Pedro Azevedo Diamantino; Susanne Swaniker-Tettey, Chief financial officer of
De Beers Diamond Trading; Peter Karakchiev, Head of Relations department at Alrosa, who insisted on two of the most urgent issues facing diamond trading today, i.e., adopting the principles of social responsibility and that of traceability in the supply chain for natural diamonds. The Congress opened with the speech of Minister Diamantino. The Minister of
di Luigi Cosma
Angola, invited together with an Angolan delegation, underlined the extraction potential of diamonds and the important political changes in his country. Diamantino also announced the intention by Angola to become part of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and affirmed that even if Angola already occupies the fourth position as worldwide diamond producer, it still has extraordinary extractive capacities not yet exploited. The Angolan minister claimed that in the last ten years Angola is the only country in which diamond extraction has increased and that it is the intention of the country to exploit its potential in the best possible way, with a view to expanding the diamond sector. Diamantino also said that Angola has set up new diamond cutting factories as a result of a new economic policy in the country, also to attract foreign capital. Susanne Swaniker of De Beers focused on the attention that we must put on young people and future generations, as they will be the next target of our market. The other speakers included
the DMCC executive president Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the WFDB president Yoram Dvash, the CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri and the WDC president Edward Asscher. In his speech, Ahmed Bin Sulayem underlined that Dubai is the fastest growing Diamond Bourse in the world. From a practically non-existent position in diamond trading in 2000, Dubai has become an important trading centre and leader in the sector. WFDB president Yoram Dvash, during his speech, invited the diamond industry to adopt the principles of social responsibility and of transparency for the good of the sector and to protect its future. Dvash, also claimed that today’s consumers ask for products that respect human rights and the environment that surrounds us. In short, buyers want to be sure that the diamonds they buy are ethical. Dvash urged us all to be transparent in relations with our customers and our suppliers and above all with the authorities that dictate the rules. This means total compliance with the AML laws and being explicit in the
invoices in declaring whether the diamonds are synthetic or treated. Subsequently, to ensure compliance with these principles, a resolution was adopted during the WFDB meeting that sets the guidelines of the Responsible Businesses Practices for the Diamond sector. These guidelines include responsible material supply throughout the supply chain; respect for human rights, equal working standards, protection of the environment; adherence to the anti-money laundering regulations and against the financing of terrorism; maximum transparency and full information on lab grown diamonds, on treated diamonds and on the imitations of diamonds.
The members of the WFDB Bourses are called to respect these principles or face disciplinary sanctions from their own Bourse. The Congress concluded with the intention of meeting again at the 40th World Congress of Diamond Bourses in 2023. The candidates for the future World Diamond Congress, in addition to Dubai, which has confirmed its availability, are Israel and India.
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