Mr. Sultan bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai World and Chairman of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) met with Mr. Eli Izhakoff the Chairman of the World Diamond Council(WDC), to discuss Dubais growing role as a hub for the global diamond industry. The meeting took place during Mr. Izhakoffs recent visit to Dubai to participate in a board meeting for the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE).

Dubai has made an extremely significant impact on the global diamond industry in the short span since the establishment of the DMCC and the DDE, said Mr. Izhakoff. "Since it is neither a diamond producer nor a manufacturer of polished diamonds, Dubai is ideally positioned to support industry specific education and awareness campaigns, including the implementation of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) in the local and regional diamond sector," he added.

The DMCC plans to work closely with the World Diamond Council to further streamline the growth of Dubais diamond industry," said Mr. bin Sulayem. "As the first signatory to the Kimberly Process in the Arab World, the UAE is fully conscious of its responsibility to spread awareness about the trade in "conflict" diamonds and encourage traders to stop the flow of conflict diamonds to the markets," he added. Dubais share of the global diamond market continues to grow as the DMCC and the DDE provide a major impetus to the local diamond trade enabling Dubai to become one of the leading international diamond centres.