President Geingob of Namibia and Mr. Tom Alweendo, Minister of Mines and Energy, visited the AWDC (Antwerp World Diamond Centre). The visit included a tour within the Diamond Office, where the president had the opportunity to inspect a shipment of Namibian goods. The high-level delegation also met with AWDC leadership and industry stakeholders. AWDC looks forward to continuing its good relationship with the Namibian government and discussing future opportunities.

Namibia is an important trade partner of the Antwerp diamond industry. The Southern African nation ranks as the sixth largest diamond producer in the world. In 2020, the country produced over 1.5 million carats, valued at US$ 720,4 million. The majority of its rough diamond production comes from marine sources: diamonds that are found on the ocean floor as a result of river movements and ancient tidal basin flows.

In terms of trade between Antwerp and Namibia, diamonds play a significant role . In 2021, direct bilateral diamond trade amounted to over US$ 133 million. AWDC is looking forward to continuing this trade relationship and discussing how Antwerp can do more for the Namibian diamond industry, by maximizing the value of Namibia’s precious resources via the Antwerp market.

Ari Epstein – CEO AWDC:” We are always delighted to show our valued partners how the Antwerp diamond trade works and to explain the reasons for its success. Through innovation, implementing the highest standards of due diligence, and creating a comfortable business environment, we succeed in building a robust home for diamond producers, traders, manufacturers, and retail. Antwerp demonstrates time and again that it is the most consistent, high-performing market for diamond trade, rough diamonds in particular. In the past two years, we saw how producing countries and miners, such as the Okavango Diamond Company of neighboring Botswana, deliberately chose to start selling their rough diamonds in Antwerp. By doing so, they were not only able to keep operations going, but more importantly, they realized a much welcome premium on sales results.”

AWDC recently published its year results for 2021, with total trade amounting to more than 37 billion dollars, confirming its position as the largest and most important diamond trading hub in the world. This first post-pandemic result exceeded the 2019 figures, pushing the diamond trade back in an upward growth path.