Author: Steven Benson

With the 2021 Intersessional Meeting of the Kimberley Process (KP) to be held on a digital platform next week, after a year during which neither of the two regularly scheduled KP meetings took place, it’s an opportune time to review the various subjects on which the WDC has been working, and to consider what we are preparing for this very first virtual meeting of the KP.

Ahead of the 2021 Intersessional Meeting, the WDC News Update spoke with the KP Chair, Alexey Moiseev, who also serves as Russia’s Deputy Minister of Finance. He previewed the upcoming gathering, provided an overview of key subjects on the KP’s agenda, and considered the impact of COVID-19 on the diamond industry and the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

To many, the two seem to be interchangeable, with both frequently and often confusingly being encountered within the same texts, as if they are synonyms, writes Mark Van Bockstael in his column Digging Down Into the Kimberley Process.

My original dream had been to buy diamonds professionally, but I ultimately discovered that my purpose was to work towards the betterment of the diamond industry and its stakeholders. When the opportunity came up to work for the WDC, how could I have refused?

At the community level, Dimexon Diamonds provides funding and support for educational institutes and employee-managed volunteer teaching programs. To improve workplace and living standards for its employees, it provides both environmental protection and health care awareness programs.

Established in 2017  in Kolkata in the Indian State of West Bengal,  Shreekunj AAI Limited is a diamond and gemstone company serving the regional jewelry market.

Governments, communities, employees, and many other stakeholders rely on the strength of the positive impact that diamonds deliver, so I’m excited to help lead the WDC’s continued drive for progress and look forward to working in a proactive, cooperative and transparent manner.