Mumbai: The Chairman of The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), Mr. Pramod Agrawal and Vice President of the Shenzen Rough Diamond Exchange (SRDE), Mr. Rong Julius  Zheng, yesterday signed an MoU between the two organisations during the India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) 2018 taking place in Mumbai between August 9-13, 2018.

The  GJEPC also announced that it would set up an office in the Exchange shortly.

“Vice President Mr. Rong  has come to the IIJS with a 35-strong delegation representing 20 companies,” said GJEPC Chairman Agrawal. “We have worked out some further areas of interaction: the Exchange will participate in the Diamond Week being held in India in October and we propose to hold a Gemstone Week in Shenzen in September. We would like to strengthen the interaction between the two organizations.”

GJEPC Executive Director Mr. Sabyasachi Ray, detailing the background to the MoU said, “India and China have a very close relationship in the diamonds and jewellery areas. We have interacted at with the trade in Shanghai, Guangzhou and also participated in the Gold Conference held in Beijing in June. In the Kimberley Process too, we work closely and our views are aligned. Moreover, there is a lot of investment by Indian companies in China.”

He added, “In diamonds India and China complement each other; we are not competing with each other, in the kind of product being worked in the two centres.”

Rong Zheng emphasised that China, as the second largest consumer of diamond jewellery, looked to India to source a lot of products of the industry.  “We welcome all suppliers who want to do business,” he said.

He added: “The purpose   of the MoU is to increase co-operation between the two countries.”