ALROSA and the Angolan national company Endiama yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening economic, scientific and technological cooperation. The MoU was signed by ALROSA CEO Sergey Ivanov and Chairman of the Administrative Council of Endiama Jose Ganga Junior in the presence of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Angola João Lourenço.

The two companies have identified areas of mutual interest to develop diamond production in Angola, particularly the search and exploration of new economically attractive deposits. They agreed that such initiatives will be guided by the best practices of corporate social responsibility, sustainable development and transparency. Further, the MoU provides for promotion of technologies and knowledge transfer in mining and other activities, as well as cooperation on mechanisms in diamond sales.

Cooperation will also be extended to the development of global industry self-regulation mechanisms and building up responsible diamond supply chains in support of the Kimberley process, as well as to support industry-wide initiatives aimed at promoting diamond products in key markets in order to ensure the sustainable development of the diamond industry in both countries.

To fulfill these tasks, ALROSA and Endiama agreed to develop joint projects, such as research, search for geological and mining facilities, training Angolan specialists at ALROSA facilities, exchanging technologies. Main goals also include financing of existing and future joint projects of concessions based on the principles of project financing, promoting integrated delineation of international markets for rough and polished diamonds (both natural and synthetic) to protect fair competition and interests of diamond mining countries.

"For both Russia and Angola, the diamond industry is an important part of national life. This is not only about the place on the international arena or funding the budgets, but also jobs for people and dozens of social projects implemented for them. Of course, we welcome the signing of the Memorandum with the national company of Angola, and are pleased to seal our long-term cooperation with an official document proclaiming the joint desire to develop our common initiatives," said Sergey Ivanov, ALROSA CEO.

ALROSA and Endiama share a long history of cooperation. The companies are co-founders of Catoca, Angola's largest diamond mining company. Catoca annually produces and sells about 6.8 million carats of diamonds. Its reserves are estimated at 120 million carats. In addition, ALROSA and Endiama have been conducting exploration in Angola as part of a joint venture since 2014.