OREANDA-NEWS. April 10, 2014. ALROSA and the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at improvement of cooperation between the company and the UAE diamond community.

The document was signed at the official ceremony in Dubai on 8 April by Andrey Polyakov, ALROSA Vice president, and Peter Meeus, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dubai Diamond Exchange, in the presence of Egor Borisov, President of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).

Both parties will work more closely and exchange expertise and information regarding the implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, share information  on market intelligence and opportunities, new technologies, industry events such as seminars and conferences.

The MoU is aimed at improving the efficiency of cooperation between ALROSA and the UAE diamond community. In the second half of 2014 ALROSA is planning to resume business through its subsidiary sales company Arcos East in Dubai suspended in 2009 following the global financial crisis.

Egor Borisov, the President of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) said, “The Emirates, and especially Dubai, is rapidly emerging as one of the new leading centres of the diamond trade due to the city’s ideal geographic location between the producing and consuming countries. In 2001 there was not nearly as much diamond trade in Dubai and the total trade at that time amounted to USD 5 million. Over 10 years it has skyrocketed to more than USD 39 billion”.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) concluded,  “We are happy to welcome cooperation with the Russian partners. Thanks to the boost in business from Africa and our rapid recovery after the global financial crisis, Dubai ranks  on par with the world’s diamond trade centers. The cooperation with ALROSA that supplies high-quality diamonds will complement the large availability of rough on the Dubai market and hence will contribute to our leading role.”