Antwerp: The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) EXCO has ended a three day program of discussions and meetings that included an extensive strategy session to analyze, discuss and decide on its future mission across the growing, global diamond trade.

The strategy session debated and agreed on themes that connect the WFDB and the international diamond trade’s past and present with new objectives for the future. With a facilitator to manage the extensive discussion, a wide range of views and perspectives were considered, supported by a SWOT analysis and multiple viewpoints.

The result of the discussion encompassed a wide-ranging output of agreed WFDB priorities including the internal diamond ecosystem of banking, profitability, compliance, certificates, shipping, disciplinary measures and the WFDB support for generic marketing and global diamond promotion through the World Diamond Mark.

Meetings included discussions with representatives of banking and mining at which EXCO underlined its commitment to support the adoption of the highest ethical standards and professional competences, throughout the trade.

WFDB’s president, Ernie Blom, in summing up the strategy session, emphasized that in addition to specific operational areas of the trade, “the WFDB has agreed to immediately broaden and deepen its ongoing dialog and cooperation with all key stakeholders in the international diamond trade.” Blom added, “The WFDB believes strongly in a profitable, expanding and respected global diamond business that will maintain its place in the world of luxury goods with diamond as a benchmark product that delights, dazzles and brings pleasure to many millions of consumers around the world.”

With 30 international bourses and effectively at least 95 percent of the world’s diamond trade handled by its members, the WFDB provides the trade and public markets a robust, transparent and accountable platform professionally positioned to defend and promote the interests of the extended family of industry stakeholders.

With a strong commitment to maintaining ongoing contact with internal and external stakeholders the WFDB will be stepping up its communications, thereby providing the market and observers with ongoing reports and news of its activities and plans.