His Excellency President José Eduardo dos Santos welcomes top delegation

A top delegation of diamond producing countries and industry leaders were received by President dos Santos, at the Presidential Palace alongside the Angolan Diamond Centenary Conference 2013 organised by Endiama on the occasion of the discovery of diamond deposits in the country 100 years ago.

The delegation included Ministers of Mines of South Africa and Namibia, Susan Shabangu and Isak Katali respectively, the Kimberley Process Chair, Ambassador Welile Nhlapo, the President of the World Diamond Council (WDC), Eli Izhakoff, The President of Alrosa, Fyodor Andreev, the Executive Chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Angola's Minister of Geology and Mines Hon. Prof. Dr. Francisco Queiroz and Eng. Carlos Sumbula, Chairman of Endiama. The President reaffirmed Angola's commitment to uphold the highest possible standards of compliance in the country’s diamond mining and assured the delegation that no violation of human rights linked to diamond exploitation can be allowed. The President also underlined Angola's open attitude towards foreign investment and a favourable tax regime for diamonds of 25 percent company tax allowing the country to stand strong and realize continuous GDP growth figures in the next years to come. Angola's annual GDP in 2012 was well above 10 percent pushing the country’s ranking to the top of the list in the world.

Ambassador Nhlapo, the KP Chair said: "The assurances given by President dos Santos are the best possible witness of Angola's strong commitment to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS)". Eli Izhakoff, President of the WDC added: "Angola was one of the first countries involved in the establishment of the KPCS and its continuous support is essential for the credibility of our unique supply control mechanism, probably the best in the whole commodities world". Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of the DMCC further commented: “President dos Santos’ open economic policy is already a model for African growth and prosperity for its people. As a logistical hub we look forward to an even stronger cooperation between the UAE and Angola in the next years to come.”