The three day 2016 Intersessional Meetings of the Kimberley Process opened in Dubai yesterday with an inaugural addressed by His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy of the UAE, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Kimberley Process Chair and new World Diamond Council President, Andrey Polyakov, among others.

Over 200 delegates from various parts of the world are attending the meetins which will run May 24-26 at Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai. Most of the 81 participating countries are attending the session, though representatives of Civil Society have stayed away.

Addressing the delegates, HE Al Mansouri said, “The Kimberley Process is a global body that strives to enable trade to flourish in a safe and stable environment so that all participants and their dependent societies can benefit to the full.”

He added, “In the UAE, our doors are always open to friends and partners from every corner of the globe, from every walk of life, as we strive to reach a common goal together.”

KP Chair Bin Sulayem stated that there were two key tasks before the organisation – “addressing the true challenges of today to strengthen the KP and to set a path ensuring the Kimberley Process will meet the challenges of the future.”

He also said, “We have a responsibility to the entire diamond supply chain and its stakeholders to approach the most challenging questions and through consensus, power forward important, much needed change.”

Bin Sulayem also highlighted the importance of the recent KP initiative in Central African Republic which have resulted in its sous-prefecture of Berberati recently being declared a compliant zone; and the progress achieved during a visit to Venezuela earlier this year to assist the country in being re-admitted to full KP membership and resume diamond sales.

He also suggested participation of a broader group of NGOs in KP.

A day earlier, the UAE as KP Chair had hosted a one-day ‘KP Chair Special Forum’ on rough diamond valuation attended by industry leaders from across the diamond industry, including large mining corporations, mining experts and senior advisors from KP Working Groups, with representatives of OECD, who have developed the Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict & High Risk Areas, joining the forum as an industry specialist and observer. 

The forum covered topics on rough diamond valuation challenges as well as the OECD’s work on enhancing the private sector contribution to responsible mineral supply chains and support to developing countries in raising revenue from executive industries.

In his remarks at the forum, Bin Sulayem said, “Rough Diamond Valuation is a critical challenge for the entire diamond industry.... (and) a top priority for the diamond exporting countries in Africa. As KP Chair, it is my goal that our work will lead to a concrete action plan towards a set of best valuation practices and ultimately a level playing field for all importers and exporters of rough diamonds.”

He said that he looked forward to putting in place first concrete steps such as enhanced data collection, financial transparency, cross-border trade and supply chain traceability for the benefit of our industry.

Pic caption: His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri addressing the KP Intersessional