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Burkina Faso to apply for KP membership

09 september 2016
Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said his country will start research into rough diamond trading and consider applying for membership of the Kimberly Process (KP).
He said this after his meeting with the KP chairperson Ahmed Bin Sulayem.
Although the landlocked West African country was a non-diamond producer, the two also discussed compliance protocols, border controls and legitimate rough diamond trade.
Kabore said that Burkina Faso was prepared to take necessary measures to ensure compliance with KP procedures.
Sulayem, who has also visited Angola, Central African Republic and South Africa, said Burkina Faso had developed a reputation for its willingness to address the illicit trade across a number of commodities, including rough diamonds.
“It’s important to show tangible support for developing nations, especially when they have expressed a strong desire to embrace growth, while at the same time researching how they might implement better compliance protocols to international standards; Burkina Faso is one of those nations,” he said in a statement.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished