RAPAPORT… The United Arab Emirates (UAE) invited a second review of its implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS.) The country’s first review was in May 2004 soon after it became a signatory to the scheme.
The second review was conducted by a high profile team comprising representatives from the United States, South Africa, India, the World Gold Council, and Global Witness. The team engaged in a four-day comprehensive program, which highlighted every aspect of the diamond trade in the UAE.
The KP review team also held meetings with the UAE Ministry of Economy, UAE Customs, DMCC, the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE,) industry leaders and authorities of Dubai and the other Emirates, to assess the impact of the KPCS on the international trade in rough diamonds, and the extent to which the scheme has been effective in preventing the flow of conflict diamonds into the legitimate trade. The technical provisions of the KP and whether they are functioning as required were also evaluated.
Ahmed bin Sulayem, executive chairman, DMCC said, “The diamond market in the UAE has evolved over the past year, both market wise and in terms of infrastructure. At DMCC, our strategic objective is to regulate and streamline Dubai’s existing trade in diamonds without hindering it. We look forward to implementing the highest international best practices while offering an attractive business climate. The DMCC has been instrumental in implementing the Kimberley Process in the UAE, and we remain firmly committed to the same.”
The UAE was appointed as a member of all working groups of the Kimberley Process including monitoring, on statistics or on diamond experts in 2007.