Dubai Diamond Conference keynote speakers: Varda Shine and Eli Izhakoff

Organizers of the March 18-19 Dubai Diamond Conference have announced that Diamond Trading Company (DTC) CEO Varda Shine and World Diamond Council President Eli Izhakoff will be the keynote speakers.

The first-ever Dubai conference, being organized by the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE), is due to take place at the Almas Tower.

The conference theme is The New Silk Route, and the DDE says it expects more than 450 stakeholders from the diamond trade, including ministers, regulators, policy advisors, jewelers and traders.

The conference will debate how Dubai can be used by African producer states as a logistical hub for their diamonds in accessing polishing centers in India and the Far East.

DDE Chairman Peter Meeus said, “2013 is a game-changing year for the diamond industry worldwide. For more than 80 years, De Beers, the largest miner in the world, sold its production from London through its subsidiary the Diamond Trading Company. This year it moved all its sales operations to Gaborone in Botswana.

"The move will further strengthen Dubai's role in between the producing countries in Africa and the cutting centres in India and the Far East. The fact that the DTC’s Chief Executive Officer, Varda Shine, will be attending the conference highlights the importance of these global shifts,” Meeus added.

Eli Izhakoff said: “As the gateway for trade flow between the East and West, Dubai is certainly the most appropriate location for an international diamond conference. With the attendance of so many key officials, both from the producing countries and the industry, the Dubai Diamond Conference will enable us to examine together how to optimise the role of diamond resources in the economic development of the region.”