(Rapaport…December 7, 2004) A six-member delegation from the Kimberley Process (KP) is visiting India to review its implementation of the process, S Ramaswamy, the executive director of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, told Rapaport News.
He said India requested that the review be carried out and is one of the few countries to have done so.
“The basic aim is to let the KP officials know that India is making sincere efforts to implement the process,” he said.
The delegation comprises of Rick Meyers and Don Law-West from the Canadian government, Stanely Specht from the US State Department, Oliver Rentschler from the European Commission, Eli Izhakoff, the chairman and chief executive of the World Diamond Council, and Alex Yearsley of non-government organization Global Witness.
The delegation’s first day was December 6, when it visited the Mumbai office of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council and spoke with council members. On December 7 it is visiting Surat, which is known as the diamond city of India.
On December 8, the group will visit the Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ), where diamond export processing units are located. The day after that, it is due to hold talks with government officials in New Delhi.