On April 1, the Russian Embassy in Botswana hosted a reception on the occasion of the visit to Botswana paid by Maxim Shkadov, CEO of PO Kristall, OAO (Smolensk) and President of IDMA. The event was attended by the representatives of Botswana’s Ministry of Natural Resources, Presidential Administration and Okavango Diamond Company, as well as by the representatives of De Beers.
As it was noted, Botswana is interested in learning from Kristall, which has more than 50 years of experience in diamond processing. Though it is a new line of business for Botswana, its policy in the field of processing its own natural resources aimed at supporting and attracting investors, is paying off.
Maxim Shkadov said that Kristall was interested in expanding cooperation and ready to share experience and technologies, conduct training, provide equipment and organize its maintenance in Botswana.
During his visit to Botswana, IDMA President visited the new office and sales division of De Beers, which moved from London last November, and got acquainted with the new requirements for Sightholders for the next contract period.
The culmination of Maxim Shkadov’s visit was the meeting with Paul Rowley, Executive Vice President, De Beers Global Sightholder Sales. They discussed the possibility of Sight expansion for Kristall. It was said that the potential of Kristall is very high and that it is one of the most important companies in the world in the field of diamond processing, which has been De Beers’ Sightholder for over 15 years.
They also discussed the global challenges facing the industry that are extremely worrisome from the point of view of IDMA. The parties agreed that the absence of global generic marketing for diamonds prevents the industry to develop dynamically and this process should be resumed immediately. This process should be initiated by diamond miners, which will be then joined by diamond manufacturers, dealers, jewelers and retailers. This will help to restore confidence towards the industry on the part of banks and return margins to diamond manufacturers, pushing forward the stagnant diamond market.
Tatiana Alexandrova, Rough&Polished
