The importance of the agreement underlined by official ceremony at the residence of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) President Shmuel Schnitzer and Andrey Polyakov, the vice president of Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa, have signed a memorandum of understanding.
The agreement between the world's second-biggest miner and the Israeli diamond sector is aimed at strengthening the two sides' interests in the global diamond market.
The signing agreement took place at the International Diamond Week earlier this week, with a ceremony to mark the occasion following at the residence of Israel's President Reuven Rivlin.
The agreement deals with the supply of rough goods to Israel but also deals with the exchange of expertise and information, as well as joint business promotion in international markets and issues such as corporate social responsibility and education.
Schnitzer said the importance of the agreement could not be underestimated, and that the ceremony at the official residence of the president of Israel further underlined the importance of the agreement. "We are talking about the supply of $550 million of rough diamonds to Israel, but the other parts of the agreement are also very important." The amount of rough diamonds supplied to Israel by Russia has jumped by about 30 percent since 2010.
Meanwhile, Polyakov commented that the partnerships was essential in light of the challenges facing the diamond business. He stressed the importance of the promotion of diamonds, recognizing the threat posed by synthetics, cooperating on scientific research, and attracting a new generation of diamantaires to the business.
ALROSA has signed similar agreements with the diamond industries in India and Belgium and recently announced its list of long term clients. Polyakov said that ALROSA’s annual supply to Israel exceeds $500 million, having
