The New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD), which is a body operating under the auspices of the African Union, has announced the launch of the Diamond Producers of Africa (DPA) initiative, in conjunction with the Antwerp consulting group IES, which is headed by Marcel Pruwer. The initiative is aimed at developing a common platform for African diamond producing countries.

The DPA is a multifaceted initiative, which includes the development of technical, management, entrepreneurial and leadership skills, financing, technology transfer, strategic beneficiation and critically, leveraging African diamond revenues for the benefit of broader rapid economic development. It will encompass diamond related activities in Angola, Botswana, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Liberia, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Tanzania.

According to NEPAD, the development challenges facing Africa require multi-faceted strategies, which include a new and common vision on trade and development, with the aim of enhancing the competitiveness of African economies, and their integration into the regional and global economy. The DPA project is designed to assist in this process. A code of conduct and mission statement has also been developed, and a beneficiation strategy and leverage strategic development plan are currently being elaborated in conjunction with the African diamond producers. The first workshop engaging all the African Diamond Producers will be held in the next weeks.

The DPA will seek to protect the collective reputation and image of all African diamonds. Best trade practice, good governance, transparency and accountability will be rigorously benchmarked and will sustain both diamond and broader economic development for this group of African diamond producing countries.
�NEPAD looks forward to energetically backing Africa�s growing role and responsibility in the global diamond and jewelry industry", said NEPAD CEO Professor Firmino Mucavele, in Johannesburg.