"The Presidents Forum”, which was established during the recent 36th World Diamond Congress in Antwerp, is comprised of the following organisation presidents: CIBJO’s Dr Gaetano Cavalieri; the World Federation of Diamond Bourses’ (WFDB’s) Ernest Blom; the International Diamond Manufacturers Association’s (IDMA’s) Maxim Shkadov; and the World Diamond Council’s (WDC’s) Edward Asscher.
“As the elected presidents of international organisations, each of which counts among its members the key national organisations and leading commercial bodies in their respective fields, we collectively represent the rank and file of the diamond, gemstone and jewellery industry worldwide,” the joint consultative committee said in an official statement.
“The objective of The Presidents Forum is to reflect the interests of all participants and stakeholders in the industry through discussion and coordination.”
During the group’s inaugural meeting at the Antwerp congress, the members of The Presidents Forum announced that their first order of business would be to begin discussions with the Precious Stones Multi-Stakeholder Working Group about the development of due diligence guidelines to defend the integrity of the supply chain.
The meeting was chaired by Eli Izhakoff, the honorary life president of CIBJO, WFDB and WDC, with other attendees including IDMA secretary general Ronnie VanderLinden, IDMA honorary past president Jeffrey Fischer, and WFDB vice president Julien Drybooms.