The World Diamond Council (WDC) will hold its fourth annual meeting from February 5th to 8th, 2006, in the city of Catania Sicily. The WDC is an international body charged with coordinating the diamond industry�s fight against conflict diamonds. The meeting will be hosted by Dr.Gaetano Cavalieri, president of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, and the WDC�s chief financial officer.

Eli Izhakoff, WDC Chairman will update the trade on the work of the council. �The fact that the conflict diamonds issue does not grab the headlines like it did several years ago should not indicate that the threat has subsided,� he said. �The Kimberley Process, which the World Diamond Council was instrumental in creating, involves an ongoing and dynamic system of checks and balances, which on the one hand should prevent the infiltration of illegitimate goods into the pipeline, and on the other hand not restrict the free flow of legitimate trade. The recent warning about rough diamonds from Cote dIvoire (Ivory Coast) is indicative of that,� Izhakoff stated.

Izhakoff applauded the resolution passed on Tuesday, December 21, by the UN General Assembly, which reaffirmed the bodys support for the Kimberley Process. �It is good to know that our efforts are being recognized,� he said. �What we have done over the past five years is almost unheard of phenomenon in the often apathetic business community. At a time when consumer confidence is so important a factor, this is really a feather in all of our caps.�