To-day Russia welcomes the 34th biennial edition of the World Diamond Congress scheduled for July 11-13 in Moscow’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel and held by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA). The event is packed into a hard-driving program squeezed into two and a half days, with its plenary and working sessions to be held over a 24-hour period. In the run-up to this gala gathering our correspondent called Avi Paz, WFDB President, for comments to this meeting.
Why did you decide to meet in Moscow and what will be the main points of your schedule here?
Its great importance is in joining and meeting together to discuss and to see what was done during the last years and most important is to discuss what steps at the WFDB should be taken to ensure that the next year or two years will be successful for the diamond industry worldwide. I believe that joining forces and listening to all the diamond bourses can bring us to some decision to increase the security and welfare of the diamond industry.
It was discussed and decided that the meeting would be in Moscow already four years ago. We always decided about our next congress between two and four years, so this was decided by the executives a few years ago and we are very happy to have this congress in Moscow. It’s the first time that we’ll have a congress there. I’m sure with the leadership of Mr. Oulin and the diamond exchanges of Moscow we will have a great congress there.
Is it true that you don’t lose your optimism concerning the future of the diamond market?
Well, if you look at the last year, from September 2008 and until the beginning of 2010, this was the biggest economic crisis in the world. And we suspect that this was the most severe crisis for the diamond exchange. And you see how all the diamantaires behaved themselves and came out of this crisis, so we see that we can be very optimistic. I believe that diamond companies are very strong, and I believe in the future of the diamond industry in the world.
Mr. Paz, it was so kind of you to comment this event, thank you.
Galina Semyonova, Rough&Polished
