The 21st Kimberley Process (KP) Plenary Meeting under the UAE’s Chairmanship took place in Dubai from 12-15 November, 2024. 

The outcome of the UAE Chairmanship, which was held under the “Year of Delivery” motto, allows us to say that the KP indeed managed to deliver in 2024 and we look into the future of the diamond industry with cautious optimism.

Despite yet another attempt by the aggressive minority of G7 countries to once again disrupt the work of the Plenary Session by politicizing its agenda, the KP has proven its effectiveness and ability to adapt to new realities in the interests of all KP Participants and their national diamond industries. The KP has made a number of decisions to secure the integrity of our industry: all restrictions on diamond exports from the CAR were lifted with a decisive aim of contributing to the nations’ economic stability, and the long-obsolete CAR Monitoring Team has been disbanded; the UAE extended its KP Chairmanship to 2025 and ensured the organization’s operability in the face of the West blocking the application of Belarus to Chair the KP for political reasons; Thailand was approved as the 2026 KP Chair, ensuring continuity and stability in the KP; Uzbekistan was admitted to the KP family as the 60th Participant of the organization, thus reaffirming the continued worldwide interest in joining the KP Certification Scheme (KPCS) and ongoing expansion of the global diamond trade.

Moreover, the KP has proven that the diamond industry is strong only when diamond producers stand firm on their ground and speak with single voice. Attempts to split the ranks of the global majority and buy-out its individual members with separate “bribes” of imaginary benefits to the detriment of the common interests of the industry have failed.

Responsible participants in the global diamond trade are well aware that any one-way concession to the offerings of “innovative” digital and logistical “single-node” monopolies that by-pass and undermine the KPCS can only lead to the collapse of the whole industry, loss of its sustainable development in favour of settling geopolitical scores by short-sighted liberal globalism in pursuit of neocolonial practices.

We can and must build on the success of the KP as the only universal mechanism for regulation of diamond trade. This year the progressive majority collaboratively engaged in supporting the KPCS in the interests of the entire industry’s future. BRICS leaders signed off the creation of a Diamond Dialogue Platform (DDP), set trends on topics of industry dialogue aimed at development of a single market for diamonds and diamond jewelry.

India, China, Brazil, South Africa and the GCC countries continued to create favourable conditions for the restoration of global diamond trade against the backdrop of global economic instability. Members of the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA) declared their intention to create common sustainable diamond standards for diamond mining and trade, taking on themselves greater responsibility for the development of the industry.

The importance of consolidating actions for the future of the industry

The Russian Federation reaffirms its part of responsibility in safeguarding the wellbeing of the diamond industry and calls for a need to move forward with joined efforts and consolidate the trends that we managed to set at international industry fora in 2024:

• We must help the industry unlock the potential of BRICS+ markets to ensure free and seamless flow of diamonds from mine to market, support the creation of common sustainable diamond standards in producing countries and their acceptance in trading and consumer nations based on “good delivery” principles and origin based on proof of responsible practices, regardless of the production geography.

Continue to fight against artificial and politically motivated trade barriers outside the KPCS that only tarnish the concept of “responsible sourcing” of diamonds and distort the “diamonds do good” reality that rough diamond industry offers in all corners of the world in the interests of social stability and economic development of local communities.

• We must demonstrate to the market our confidence in the future of the diamonds’ enduring value, support the emerging trend of global trade recovery. In this regard, the Russian Federation is taking practical steps to support the market. Thus, the State Fund of Precious Metals and Precious Stones

of the Russian Federation has sufficient resources to provide support to the diamond industry if necessary, as was the case before. The federal budget for 2025-2027 provides for up to 154.5 billion rubles (1.55 billion US dollars) for the purchase of precious metals and precious stones by Gokhran.

We note the positive experience of state purchases in 2008-2009, which became an excellent investment for us by selling diamonds in subsequent years against the backdrop of supply shortage. This is an important signal for the industry in its commitment to the “price-over-volume” principle, and a task that Russia is ready to fulfill in our common interests of the industry’s recovery in 2025, ensuring stable global rough diamond prices in the wake of oversupply in the current market.

• And most importantly, we must combine our efforts to ensure investment in generic marketing of diamonds in key and growing diamond jewellery consumption markets. Leading diamond mining companies, ALROSA and De Beers, traditionally actively support marketing campaigns in the United States, China and India, but current investments are insufficient against the backdrop of falling demand and volumization of LGD sales.

Large-scale investments in generic marketing by other industry players can reverse the trend. Here we support the intentions of the three leading diamond trading centers, Dubai, Mumbai and Antwerp, to join forces in funding marketing campaigns. We call on the national companies of the diamond producers of Africa to contribute to this common cause, which is key to the long-term future of the global diamond industry and sustainable consumption market growth for our product for years to come.