BRICS holds first meeting of diamond industry dialogue platform

A meeting of BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors in Moscow on October 9th
hosted an informal dialogue platform on cooperation in the diamond industry, held with
assistance from the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA).
During the meeting, diamond industry representatives and regulators from the BRICS countries
and members of leading international industry organizations discussed potential ways to promote
a regular dialogue to ensure sustainable development of the diamond trade.
"Following the meeting, participants agreed on four main aspects of the dialogue platform:
creating added value in supply chains; supporting generic diamond marketing programs in the
BRICS markets; ensuring uniform standards for responsible diamond mining and trade; sharing
best practices," the press service of the Russian Ministry of Finance reported.
During a separate session, representatives of the BRICS countries also discussed the feasibility
of creating uniform quality standards and rules for trading precious stones and metals in the
BRICS markets.
"The launch of a dialogue platform on diamonds in the BRICS+ format with the participation of
African diamond-mining countries will help strengthen trade and business ties between our
countries, create new forms of cooperation and develop a unified position of all segments of the
diamond pipeline – from mining to retail – in the common interests of the stable development of
the industry. It is important to emphasize that our cooperation is based on the principles of the
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme as the only universal mechanism for regulating the
global trade in rough diamonds," said Alexey Moiseyev, Deputy Minister of Finance of the
Russian Federation.