Vladivostok: The first Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held in the Russian Far East has resulted in the signing of agreements worth a total of 1.3 trillion rubles (about $18.9 billion).

Mr. Vipul Shah, Chairman of India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), in a chat with Sputnik, stated that India is one of the largest polishers of diamonds, while Russia is one of the largest manufacturers. The Russian Far East is developing rapidly, and the forum has allowed the advancing of business strategy in the region. There are major centers of diamond production in the eastern regions of Russia. Therefore, India is interested in the Russian initiative of creation of a diamond exchange in Vladivostok.

Mr. Dilip Mehta, Executive Director of Rosy Blue Group said, “It has presented an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with this region and with the terms and conditions for conducting business here. Before coming to Vladivostok, I had no idea about this city, about the infrastructure here.”

“I was extremely surprised; when I realized that doing business here in Vladivostok is perhaps more easy than in any other region. We certainly want to pay attention to this region in the future. Given the fact that in Yakutia, there are several centers of production of diamonds, as well as accessibility to the global markets, Vladivostok is of great interest to us,” he added.