Russian President Vladimir Putin and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have both been invited to address the World Diamond Conference being held in New Delhi on December 11-12, 2014, though actual  confirmation of their presence will only be possible closer to the date, according to the organisers.

The Conference is being organised by The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and Ministry of Commerce, Government of India in association with the World Diamond Mark Foundation. 

The dates of the conference coincide with an official visit by the Russian Head of State to India. The conference will also be addressed by representatives from across the entire spectrum of the diamond industry pipeline.

The organisers have planned a number of sessions each related to different stages and aspects of the industry.

For the mining session high level delegations from the major mining countries are expected to participate, while the presence of senior representatives of De Beers, Alrosa and Rio Tinto Diamonds has already been confirmed. Other mining companies have also been invited to participate in the session which will be centred around two key themes – enhancing direct supply to the major manufacturing centres and the future projections regarding supply of rough beyond the next decade in the absence of major new soruces of diamonds.

Another key session will be the one that is to be addressed by senior representatives of global diamond industry organisations like WFDB, IDMA, WDC and others. The session will deliberate on the role and scope of each organisation and issues facing the global trade.

Sessions on retailing, marketing and branding and finance will also be taken up during the two days. In the retail session, major retailers from US, Middle East and Far East are likely to attend while outside experts are expected to speak on marketing and branding.

ABN AMRO has confirmed the participation of its senior management in the session on Finance, and key officials from the Indian banking sector are among the invitees.

Registration for the event will begin soon and details will be announced on the websites of the organising bodies shortly.

Two key developments are likely to take place alongisde the conference:

Firstly there will be the signing of supply contracts with 10 Indian companies with four new names being added to the six existing contract holders. The process of selection is already underway and applications received for the four proposed additional slots are being reviewed by the company.

Secondly, a meeting on issues related to the WDC is expected to take place either in Delhi on Dec 12 or Mumbai on Dec 13 which will be attended by the President and members of the Board of WDC and key representatives of the bourses and international bodies.