The BRICS platform for precious metals and rough diamonds can utilize the standards of the Kimberley Process (KP) to increase trade volumes within the group and to combat excessive regulation.
"We support efforts to increase the turnover of precious metals within BRICS based on common quality standards," says the Kazan Declaration of the 16th BRICS summit, excerpts from which are cited by TASS.
The participants of the group also noted that they consider KP to be "the only global intergovernmental certification mechanism for regulating trade in rough diamonds." They "welcome the creation of an informal BRICS cooperation platform with the participation of African diamond-mining countries to ensure free trade in rough diamonds and sustainable development of the global diamond industry."
In a separate comment, the Russian president noted that a special BRICS platform will help combat overregulation and trade barriers within diamond and precious metals markets.
"We see the expediency of creating a separate BRICS platform for precious metals, as well as diamonds. After all, this market is heavily regulated by various trade barriers, bypassing the universal Kimberley Process certification scheme," he said.
The president added that the BRICS International Center for Antitrust Law and Policy has proven its efficiency, and called for its further development, including through the launch of an interstate platform for fair competition.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
