AWDC allays reports of Angola snub

Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) has refuted claims that its efforts to convince Luanda to end Dubai's monopoly over the country's diamonds were rebuffed.
Africa Intelligence reported that Angola was not persuaded by arguments put forward by a delegation of diamond industry leaders from Antwerp, who were in the southern African country early this week.
"The delegation members were happy with the mission and the meetings they had with Sodiam and Endiama leadership, of course, we will have to see if this results in more goods coming to Antwerp or not and any other projects in the future," said AWDC senior manager communications Karen Rentmeesters.
Only 10% of the southern African country's diamonds are being sold in Antwerp, according to AWDC President Chaim Pluczenik.
President Lourenço visited Antwerp in 2018, just months after taking office.
During the visit, he acknowledged that hardly any of Angola's rough diamonds were traded directly on the Antwerp market for decades.
President Lourenço then indicated his desire to reform the Angolan diamond industry and collaborate closely with Antwerp.
About 86% of the world's rough diamonds are traded in Antwerp making the city the global leader in the rough diamond trade.
Angola produced about 8 million carats last year down from 9.4 million carats in 2019 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

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