Dubai Multi Commodities Centre announces opening of Israel Diamond Exchange office in Dubai
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) announced the opening of Israel Diamond Exchange office in Dubai. The statement says this will boost bilateral relations. According to a statement from DMCC an “Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) representative office in Dubai Diamond Exchange reflects close ties between Dubai’s and Israel’s diamond industries.”
In addition this takes place amid a global diamond industry event called JGT Dubai. The new “office will increase ease of doing business for Israeli diamond companies operating in or looking to set up in Dubai,” a statement says.
The DMCC announced the opening on February 23, 2022. The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) representative office at the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) will be in Almas Tower. “The office opening signifies the close ties between the country’s respective diamond industries,” the statement says.
According to Gulf Business “the announcement was made at the fifth Dubai Diamond Conference, which brought together 550 industry leaders to discuss ‘The Future of Diamonds.’”
Background
In September 2020 the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE), DMCC, which is “the world’s flagship Free Zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise,” signed a collaboration agreement with the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE). The agreement came just days after the UAE had signed a normalization deal, now known as the Abraham Accords, with Israel. “This agreement will attract businesses to the emirate as well as boost the regional and international trade of this precious stone,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of the DMCC and chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange. Sulayem has been enthusiastic about the new ties, several interviews with him are worth reading, here and here.
In December 2020, in the wake of the Abraham Accords, DMCC opened a representative office in Ramat Gan in the Israel Diamond Exchange. Reports said at the time that “the new office will support Israeli businesses, from all industries and sectors, interested in setting up a presence in Dubai and DMCC's Free Zone. The DMCC is home to the Dubai Diamond Exchange and hosts more than 1,000 companies connected to the diamond trade.”
Hurdles apparently remain in this sector. Globes reported that regulations have caused delays. The report at Globes in December said that “Israel's diamond industry is recovering from the Covid crisis. According to the Ministry of Economy's Diamond, Special Stones and Jewelry Administration net imports of raw diamonds has risen in 2021 by 120% compared with 2020 and exports are up 146%. Exports of cut and polished diamonds have also risen sharply…delays in transferring money are causing severe problems in credit and cash flow in Israel's diamond industry, which has seriously suffered during the Covid pandemic.”
The statement
The rest of the DMCC statement is below:
Senior representatives and government officials from DMCC, WFDB, IDE and the Israeli Consulate in Dubai including Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO, DMCC; Ilan Shtulman, Consul General of Israel in Dubai; Boaz Moldawsky, President, IDE; Eran Zini, Managing Director, IDE; and Yoram Dvash, President, WFDB, attended the inauguration of the IDE office, which is set to increase the ease of doing business for Israeli diamond companies operating in or looking to set up in Dubai.
The opening comes a day after DMCC announced that the UAE has become the world’s largest rough diamond trade hub, with USD 22.8 billion-worth of rough diamonds traded in 2021. The announcement was made at the fifth Dubai Diamond Conference, which convened over 550 industry leaders to discuss ‘The Future of Diamonds’. The entire global diamond industry is in the emirate this week for Dubai Diamond Week, which also includes the inaugural JGT Dubai and the President’s meeting for the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB).