Panama to launch 'Panama Gem & Jewelry Center'

Panama is set to launch its Panama Gem & Jewelry Center, the first dedicated facility for the diamond, jewellery and colored stones trades in the region, which includes South and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli will be the guest of honor at the March launch and he will be joined by leaders of the international and Latin American diamond, jewellery and precious stones industries, who will gather in Panama City on March 17-18.

Anchoring the new center will be the Panama Diamond Exchange (PDE), which was established in 2008 as the first and only diamond bourse in all of Latin America, and which is recognized by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses. The PDE also joined the Kimberley Process in 2013.

To promote the establishment of the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center as the Latin American industry's primary trading hub, the Panamanian parliament recently passed legislation that recognizes the area of the PDE facility to be a Free Zone, where residents do not incur customs duties on goods traded within the center and they are exempt from paying corporate taxes.

Among the industry leaders that have thus far confirmed their participation of the March launch are: Eli Izhakoff, Hon. President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the World Diamond Council; Ernest Blom, WFDB President; Gaetano Cavalieri, President the World Jewellery Confederation; Avi Paz, President of the World Diamond Council; Shmuel Schnitzer, President of the Israel Diamond Exchange; Reuven Kaufman, President of the Diamond Dealers Club of New York; Moti Ganz, Chairman of the Israel Diamond Institute, and Ronnie Vanderlinden, President of the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of the United States.

Latin America's diamond, jewellery and colored stone sector is currently estimated to be worth $8 billion in sales per annum, and its industry includes more than 11,500 jewellery outlets, more than 320 mining companies and almost 750 wholesalers of diamond, jewellery and colored stones.