Luanda – An Angolan delegation will represent the country at the Kimberley Process Midterm Meeting, to be held from the 20th to the 24th June (Monday to Friday), in Kasane, Botswana.
Participants at the event, to be held in a hybrid format (virtual and face-to-face), will debate, among several issues, the definition of the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of the Kimberly Process, which did not reach consensus during the Plenary Meeting held in Moscow in 2021.
According to a press release issued by ANGOP on Friday, the meeting will be attended by representatives from 82 countries participating in the International Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).
The Angolan delegation will be headed by the executive coordinator of the National Kimberley Process Commission (CNPK), Paulo Mvika, including senior officials from this organism.
The Republic of Angola is a co-founder and active participant in the main decisions of the Kimberley Process, created in 2003 with the aim of eliminating conflict diamonds trading.
Botswana currently holds the rotating chair of the Kimberley Process, with Zimbabwe as Vice Chair.
The Kimberley Process is a diamond certification of origin scheme designed to prevent the buying and selling of blood diamonds, i.e. diamonds originating from areas of conflict, civil wars and human rights abuses.
It was created in 2003 with the aim of preventing the financing of arms in African countries at civil war. In 2000, several countries accepted the Kimberley Process, committing themselves to only purchase certified rough diamonds (with provenance confirmed by an official certificate) and to refuse imports coming from conflict areas.
Source: Angola Press News Agency