CIBJO President interacts with Thailand’s the Minister of Commerce

CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri held a meeting with Mrs. Apiradi Tantraporn, the Minister of Commerce of the Republic of Thailand, in Bangkok. The meeting was to discuss preparations for the 2017 CIBJO Congress, which will take place in the city in November, and also ways in which CIBJO and the congress can assist in enhancing the role of Thailand in the international jewellery and gemstone business.

The 2017 CIBJO Congress is being hosted by the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) and the Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT), both of which fall under the jurisdiction of the Thai Ministry of Commerce. The meeting with the minister was also attended by Rachane Potjanasuntorn, Chairman of GIT, and Somdet Susomboon, Deputy Director General of DITP, as well as senior members of the Thai team that is helping organise the event.

During the meeting, Dr. Cavalieri expressed hope that the congress will assist Thailand in reclaiming its position as a leading trade and manufacturing centre in the international gemstone and jewellery trade, for the country to be the epicentre of the business in the ASEAN block, and emphasize its specific Thai identity, skill and expertise, rather than operating predominantly as production service-provider for companies from other countries.

The Minister of Commerce stressed that her ministry and the Thai government are instituting a programme to enhance both the strategic position and value of the Thai gemstone and jewellery sector. The holding of the 2017 CIBJO Congress in Bangkok is part of that effort, Mrs. Tantraporn stated.

The 2017 CIBJO Congress is scheduled in Bangkok, Thailand between November 5-7, 2017, with pre-congress meetings beginning on November 2.

The World Ruby Forum, which is being organised nu GIT in conjunction with the congress, will take place November 4. As the official venue for the meeting of the CIBJO Assembly of Delegates, the CIBJO Congress will gather in Bangkok the members of national jewellery and gemstone associations from more than 40 countries and representatives of many of the industry’s most important commercial bodies. The congress serves as key platform - as a forum for CIBJO’s professional commissions; to discuss and update CIBJO Blue Books; where the programme of World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF) and CIBJO’s ongoing cooperation with the United Nations and its development programme is reported upon.