the Antwerp World Diamond Centre is hosting a delegation of representatives of the Zimbabwean government, the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) and the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), in Antwerp. The visit is the result of high-level meetings between Zimbabwean Ministers, representatives of the local diamond mining industry and a delegation of AWDC in Harare.

The visit is another step in reinforcing the ties between Antwerp, the world’s prime diamond trading hub, and Zimbabwe, one of the major African diamond producing countries in the world. The AWDC, ZMDC and MMCZ will be discussing the organization of the first Marange diamond tender to be held before the end of this year.

Following the lifting of the EU sanctions against ZMDC, Marange diamonds are now allowed for trading in Antwerp. This opening of the market should have a highly significant and positive impact on the necessary market transparency. In addition, Antwerp is convinced that the combination of solid transparency, accountability and potentially increased mining revenues will contribute to a sustainable social and economic development of Zimbabwe.

Increased transparency and revenues are also clear priorities of Zimbabwe’s Minister of Mines and Mining Development Hon. Walter Chidhakwa, who in his recent speech during the AWDC Networking event in Harare noted: “We want to ensure that beyond meeting the KPCS requirement, to secure the sector, to ensure that the process by which our diamonds are mined, marketed and logistically moved to other countries has the same level of transparency as those marketed elsewhere in the world”.

AWDC, short for Antwerp World Diamond Centre, is an industry-established foundation, whose mission is to serve and support the diamond business in Antwerp, the world's most important diamond trade hub. AWDC is the coordinating body and the official representative of the Antwerp diamond sector, and as such are recognized internationally as the host, spokesperson and intermediary for the Belgian diamond community. In this capacity, AWDC liaises on behalf of the Belgian diamond sector with governments and actively promotes support for the diamond sector at home and abroad.

84% of all rough diamonds and 50% of all polished diamonds pass through Antwerp. Diamonds represent 5% of the total Belgian exports and 15% of all Belgian exports outside the EU, making diamonds the most important export product outside the EU.