ANKARA 

Diamond trade between Turkey and Belgium got a shot in the arm Monday with an agreement signed between Borsa Istanbul, Antwerp World Diamond Centre and JTR Jewelry Exporters’ Association.

 Borsa Istanbul Chief Executive Officer Tuncay Dinc, and the Belgian center’s President Stephane Fischler and Turkish association’s Chairman Ayhan Guner signed the Memorandum of Understanding.

“Turkey ranks third in gold jewelry production; fourth in physical gold demand; fifth in jewelry consumption; 11th in Central Bank reserves; second in gold jewelry exports; and fifth in the sector in general,” Dinc said.

"Diamond trade in Antwerp has a history of more than 500 years," Pieter de Crem, Belgian secretary of state for foreign trade, said, adding: "84 percent of rough diamonds and 50 percent of all polished diamonds in the world are traded in Antwerp. Last year, the total diamond trade volume increased to a staggering $58 billion. On a daily basis, 600 shipments are realized, worth $260 million.”

De Crem also said that the annual diamond consumption in Turkey was estimated at approximately $235 million, while the country exported jewelry worth $2.2 billion annually. “Last year, we exported a little bit more than 11,000 carats of polished diamonds to Turkey, worth $20 million. Through this agreement, we hope to increase this amount.”

Fischler said, "We defined a roadmap for the year 2020. This roadmap resembles Turkey’s 2023 vision in the sense that it aims at increasing wealth," adding: “Antwerp is the world’s largest diamond trade center of the world. In Antwerp, we added ‘confidence’ to the 4C diamond criteria, namely; carat, clarity, cut, and color. We will build such an infrastructure that both the sector will grow, and we will re-define the criteria as 5C.”

Guner said that Belgium is a master in diamond trade, whereas Turkey is a master in mounting diamonds. 

"If the two countries join their powers, jewelry sales to third countries will boom," he added.