Belgian vice-prime minister and minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht visited the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), wherein he also visited the HRD Antwerp diamond lab, Diamond Office and the Antwerp diamond bourses. In his speech held at the Diamantclub Antwerpen he emphasised that he has been following the diamond sector for over 10 years and believes that the Antwerp diamond sector has not weakened by any means in the past few years. Instead, it has become even more structured and transparent than before. He underscored the importance of the diamond trade and confirmed the unconditional support of the Belgian government and Foreign Affairs in particular, to help Antwerp maintain its leading position as major diamond trading centre.
He further mentioned that, “Antwerp is today by far the largest diamond trading centre. This success story is the result of its location at the centre of the European Union, of an unmatched political and economical stability, of the innovative dynamism of its traders and bankers and of the active support of the Belgian government.”
During his visit to AWDC, he also interacted over lunch with a delegation of Ambassadors of major diamond producing and exporting countries, including Canada, Australia, Israel, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Russia, Lesotho, Indonesia, Thailand, UAE,
and the US.