DMCC – the world’s flagship free zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise – has announced the agenda for Dubai Diamond Week, a world-first gathering of the global diamond industry in Dubai from 11-15 November that will feature a trifecta of events in the DMCC’s Dubai Diamond Conference (DDC), the Kimberley Process (KP) Plenary Session and the Jewellery, Gem & Technology in Dubai (JGTD) trade show.
The biennial DDC will kick off on Monday 11 November under the theme of ‘Thriving Under Pressure: Navigating the new global paradigms’ to drive critical conversations on the industry’s most pressing challenges. This includes supply chain pressures amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty; key market dynamics and competition reshaping global demand; new regulatory and compliance requirements, with greater demand for transparency and traceability across the supply chain; and the urgent need for action on generic promotion to stimulate demand.
Keynotes will be led by HE Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Al Cook, the CEO of De Beers Group. Three curated panels of experts will explore the short- and long-term pressures facing the industry, lessons and parallels from other industries that have navigated traceability mandates, and the evolving regulatory landscape and ESG regulations affecting the diamond industry. The DDC’s concluding panel will explore the key levers for driving successful strategic change in the diamond industry in the long-term.
The full agenda can be accessed here.
The DDC will be followed by Dubai’s flagship jewellery trade show, JGT Dubai. Having launched in 2022, JGT Dubai has experienced rapid growth and success, becoming one of the signature events in the global gem and jewellery calendar and a major regional B2B sourcing opportunity. This year’s JGT Dubai will run from 12-14 November, bringing gemstone dealers, jewellery manufacturers, tech solutions and service providers together for three days of connecting and trading.
Rounding out Dubai Diamond Week is the 2024 Plenary Session of the UN-led Kimberley Process (KP) from 12-15 November, with DMCC’s Ahmed Bin Sulayem representing the UAE as Chair of the KP for a historic second time in 2024. The Plenary represents the concluding moment in the UAE Chairmanship’s “Year of Delivery”, offering an opportunity to benchmark progress against the programme’s priorities and adopt key administrative decisions as part of the KP’s efforts to regulate the international diamond trade and prevent conflict diamonds from entering the market.
Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC said: “With the UAE’s trade volumes for rough and polished diamonds rising 12% year-on-year to reach nearly 120 million carats in the first half of 2024, Dubai continues to cement its position as the largest diamond trade hub in the world and where the global discussion on the future of industry takes place. By convening three, world-leading events in one place, Diamond Week will not only provide extensive value in the form of information sharing and networking, but a critical platform to drive bold conversations and address key issues head on. I look forward to welcoming our global network of industry and government leaders as we chart the next phase of growth and value for the diamond industry.”
Now in its sixth edition, DMCC’s Dubai Diamond Conference has become a must-attend event for anyone in the diamond industry, from mining companies through to retailers. It has played a key role in stimulating industry growth through a conversation-driven agenda, acting as one of the key avenues through which DMCC has positioned Dubai as a leading diamond trade hub. DMCC also operates the Dubai Diamond Exchange, the largest diamond tender facility in the world, which is home to over 1,300 diamond companies.
Early bird tickets for Dubai Diamond Conference 2024 are available until 30 September at https://diamondconference.ae/
