NEW YORK: FEBRUARY 12, 2012 – The Ninth Annual Meeting of the World Diamond Council will take place on May 5 and 6 in Tel Aviv, Israel, the WDC President, Eli Izhakoff, has announced.
The meeting, which will gather together in Israel leaders of the diamond and jewelry industries from around the world, as well as representatives of government and civil society, is the official forum for THE General Assembly of the WDC, which is the body charged with managing the industry’s effort to eliminate the illegitimate trade in diamonds from areas of conflict.
The host of the Annual Meeting will be the Israel Diamond Institute, and the venue will be the Dan Panorama hotel, which is located on Tel Aviv’s seafront.
“Israel has been the site of a number of milestones in the campaign against conflict diamonds, including the issuing of the first Kimberley Process certificate in 2003,” said Mr. Izhakoff. “Our thanks go out to the Israel Diamond Institute, which has demonstrated once again the country’s firm commitment to ensuring the ethical integrity of the diamond’s chain of distribution.”
“As founding members of the World Diamond Council, we have firmly supported the organization and its mission from the moment of its establishment, and we are excited to be able to host the Annual Meeting in Tel Aviv in May,” said Moti Ganz, IDI Chairman. “We are especially privileged to be able to pay tribute to the WDC’s founding president, Eli Izhakoff, who will be stepping aside in June after 13 years of dedication and achievement.”
The first day of the Annual Meeting, May 5, will include a WDC board meeting and a get-together reception in the evening. The second day, May 6, will include the WDC Plenary session, and it will conclude with a gala dinner.
This is the third WDC meeting to be hosted by the Israel Diamond Institute in Israel. The founding meeting of the organization took place in Tel Aviv in 2000, and in 2007 the Fifth Annual Meeting was held in Jerusalem