UAE to become Chair of the Kimberley Process in 2016

Dubai, UAE: 16 September 2015: DMCC, one of the world’s leading commodity hubs and the UAE Ministry of Economy’s authority for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, welcomes the selection of the UAE as the Vice-Chair of the Kimberley Process (KP) in 2015. The appointment was recently confirmed through a voting process involving all KP Participants. The UAE will assume the role of Kimberley Process Chair in 2016.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of DMCC, said:

“We are honoured to have been formally selected as Vice Chair in 2015 and to assume the role of Chair of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in 2016. Voted by our fellow participants, we have become the first Arab country to hold this position. As Chair, we plan to bring our wealth of experience to the KP, having been a member since 2003, and we look forward to working with related government and industry groups to further enhance and develop the KP through existing and new initiatives.”

The UAE will use this opportunity to focus on areas that will have the greatest impact on the growth and development of the diamond industry; these are:

(i) To work together on the growth and reach of the KP whilst consolidating the achievements of the past 12 years – bringing to an end the flow of conflict diamonds globally;

(ii) To strengthen the ties between the three pillars of KP (government, industry and civil society) through active engagement and collaboration;

(iii) To assist newly admitted countries, and those that aspire to join the KP, with technical assistance, training and consensus building through seminars and conferences.

The UAE will be hosting KP participants for intercessional and plenary meetings taking place in Dubai in 2016. This will be a unique opportunity for all KP participants to get first-hand experience of Dubai’s infrastructure and trading community which have supported its growth in the industry.

The KPCS was implemented in the UAE in 2003 by the Ministry of Economy, making the UAE the first Arab country to do so. Since then, the Dubai diamond trade, under the auspices of the Dubai Diamond Exchange, has grown at a significant rate and positioned the Emirate as one of the leading rough and polished diamond trading hubs globally.