Israel's Prime Minister to host participants at close of 2015 Presidents' Meeting

The conclusion of the 2015 Presidents’ Meeting too has been planned with a networking event. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will host a delegation of the participants at the Prime Minister's official residence at the close of the three-day Meeting. The delegation will make its way up to Israel's capital. Israel Diamond Exchange President Shmuel Schnitzer, who is also an Honorary WFDB President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), noted that an unusual large number of the leaders and delegates of the 30 diamond bourses affiliated to the WFDB as well as of the 16 members of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) will be attending the 2015 Presidents' Meeting at the Tel Aviv Hilton hotel June 14-16.

"We are pleased with and heartened by the support of so many major players and good friends in the international diamond industry and trade who will be joining us in Tel Aviv for this important meeting," IDE President Shmuel Schnitzer said. "There is a good measure of work to be done and with this strong a field of participants, I am confident that we will take significant strides toward renewed growth of our industry, throughout the entire supply pipeline."

Among the Meeting's attending dignitaries and industry leaders are, WFDB President Ernest Blom (South Africa), IDMA President Maxim Shkadov (Russia); Edward Asscher, President of the World Diamond Council (Netherlands); Gaetano Cavalieri, President of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation (Italy); Reuven Kaufman, President of the Diamond Dealers Club of New York; Anoop Mehta, President of the Bharat diamond Bourse of Mumbai, India; Marcel Pruwer, President of the Antwerp Diamond Bourse, Belgium; Eli Izhakoff, Chairman of the World Jewelry Hub at the Panama Diamond Exchange and Honorary WFDB President; Philippe Mellier, CEO, and Paul Rowley, Executive Vice President of the De Beers Group (UK and Botswana); and Andrey Zharkov, the newly minted president of the Russian diamond miner ALROSA. In addition, large governmental delegations will arrive from African diamond-producing countries such as Botswana, DR Congo, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The discussions would centre around challenges affecting the entire diamond supply pipeline such as, among others, the supply of rough diamonds, the disconnect between rough and polished diamond prices, the need for broader and more diverse industry financing, the quest for a solution to uniform diamond grading parameters and the need for an encompassing global, generic diamond promotion and advertising campaign among consumers.