Diamantaires in India, especially in the diamond capital of the world in Surat, are eagerly waiting for the presidents’ meeting of World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) to be held in Dubai for three days from April 11.
While a detailed programme of the meeting is yet to be released, exports from Zimbabwe’s controversial Marange fields and the warnings issued by the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) are expected to be high on the agenda, following accusations that the Kimberly Process (KP) Certification Scheme did not follow consensus in lifting a brief ban.
The Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai is among the 29 member bourses of the WFDB that will participate in the meeting.
Peter Meeus, who chairs the Dubai Diamond Exchange, said that his organisation will together with the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre organise the “WFDB African Summit” along with the WFDB’s presidents’ meeting with the participation of a number of mining ministers from leading African diamond producing countries, including Zimbabwe.
The Jewellers of America and Diamond Manufacturers Association of America had expressed concerns over KP’s chairman Mathieu Yamba’s decision to allow Zimbabwe to resume its diamond exports.
The WFDB and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association had not made any public statements about it.
Industry sources said the destination for Zimbabwe’s rough diamonds is Dubai.
However, the Dubai firms importing rough diamonds are cautious with the US and the EU threatening to publish the names of those firms on their governments’ websites and asking the Office of Foreign Assets Control to investigate whether the transactions were in violation of the laws.
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“The meeting is seen as an important development post-KP’s decision to allow Zimbabwe to resume its diamond export. The mining ministers of the leading African nations, including Zimbabwe, are participating. However, we hope that some consensus will be reached over the Zimbabwe issue,” a leading diamantaire said.
