Hong Kong:  Borsa İstanbul, the only bourse regulated under Turkish Capital Market Law, and the World Diamond Mark Foundation (WDM) have signed an agreement that cements the cooperation between Borsa İstanbul and WDM, with the specific objective to institutionalize diamond trading in Turkey and in other key markets by means of Borsa İstanbul’s extensive networking capabilities and ready access to markets in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Upon signing the agreement, Tuncay Dinç, Borsa Istanbul CEO, said that Borsa İstanbul’s resolution to join the WDM’s efforts to promote consumer desirability and confidence in diamonds comes at a crucial moment.

“The international diamond and diamond jewellery industry is currently facing significant competition for market share in the luxury consumer product market. We believe that the WDM, which operates under the umbrella of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, is the ideal body that will not only bundle the efforts by our industry in stimulating consumer desire for diamonds and diamond jewellery, but will also be the catalyst that can open up new employment opportunities for our well established high quality jewellery craftsmanship industry” Dinç stated.

WDM Chairman Alex Popov commended the Borsa Istanbul’s leadership for its vision and understanding of the WDM’s objectives and for the adoption of its goals. “The Turkish diamond, gem and jewellery industry and trade is uniquely placed to adopt and implement the WDM’s promotional programmes for diamonds and diamond jewellery. As the gateway for trade between Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Turkey, by means of Borsa İstanbul and a significant number of third parties, will play an important role as a WDM ambassador. We expect that on the one hand, Turkey will play a pivotal role in the promotion of diamonds in its target markets, while on the other hand it will be among the first industries to reap the benefits of the WDM’s activities,” Popov said.