Mumbai: The Chair of the Kimberley Process (KP), Mr. Robert Owen-Jones, Assistant Secretary, Australian Competitiveness Branch Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade visited India last week to acquaint himself with the workings of the Indian diamond industry and the system for implementing the KP Certification Scheme.

In Mumbai, Mr Owens met a delegation of India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and held informal deliberations on various issues being currently discussed in KP as well as about conducting the KP Review process, etc. He also visited the Customs, DDRC, IDTC-SNZ, KP Office and an office of one of the diamond exporter companies. He was impressed the security systems throughout the BDB and as well as the functioning of, and the use of the latest technology by, the DDRC for screening diamond parcels to detect undisclosed mixing.

Subsequently, Mr Owens also went to Surat where he got the opportunity to visit diamond cutting factories, the IDI and the GJEPC’s regional office.