PDE

Mr. Faltz also serves as Chairman of the Membership and Banking Committees of the World Jewelry & Diamond Hub, Panama.

A group of female jewelers, who first joined together during the women’s empowerment session at the Second LATAM Jewelry and Diamond Week at the World Jewelry Hub in June, has launched a grass-roots initiative that is designed to communicate their gender’s particular perspective on the way jewelry and gemstones should be marketed.

The empowerment of women in Latin America’s jewelry, diamond and gemstone sectors came under the spotlight at a special seminar, organized as part of the Second Latin American Diamond and Jewelry Week at the World Jewelry Hub in Panama City on June 23.

“We do not ask for special treatment,” stressed Ali Pastorini, Senior Vice President of the World Jewelry Hub, in her keynote address to the special session on women’s empowerment, which highlighted the third and final day of the Second Latin American Diamond and Jewelry Week on June 23. The following is the full text of Ms. Pastorini’s address:

The Second Latin American Diamond and Jewelry Week opened yesterday at the World Jewelry Hub in Panama City, in the presence of government and industry leaders, as well as buyers and suppliers of jewelry, diamonds and colored gemstones from more than 20 countries in Latin America and around the world.

The transaction was managed under the center’s expanded free-zone license, which now permits the establishment of manufacturing facilities within its jurisdiction.

Latin America’s first diamond bourse, will from now on be known as the “World Jewelry & Diamond Hub, Panama.” The move was approved by the General Assembly of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, during the 37th World Diamond Congress in Dubai, May 16-19.

Mahesh Khemlani, President of the Panama Diamond Exchange, and Ali Pastorini, PDE’s Senior Vice President, will visit the Near and Middle East in May, aiming to build ties between Latin American gemstone and jewelry traders operating at the World Jewelry Hub in Panama City and members of the global trade.

The role and empowerment of women in the Latin American jewelry industry will be the focus of a special meeting that will take place on the trading floor of the Panama Diamond Exchange during the Second Latin American Diamond and Jewelry Week, at the World Jewelry Hub in Panama City, June 21 to 23, 2016.

The World Jewelry Hub has marked Diplomatic Day in Panama by hosting the country’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Augusto Arosemena, as guest of honor, together with ambassadors and representatives from a host of countries, at its facility in the Santa Maria Business District of Panama City.

Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Center, was honored last week in Panama City, when he was presented Honorary Membership of the World Jewelry Hub by its Chairman Eli Izhakoff.

The ceremony, which was held in the presence of diamond exchange members and invited guests, also featured the installation of Ali Pastorini as Senior Vice President.

Three of the world’s largest diamond companies have inaugurated their Latin American offices in the Panama Diamond Exchange building at the World Jewelry Hub. The companies, all which are De Beers sightholders, are Diarough, Jewelex and Kiran Gems.

The Board of Directors of the Panama Diamond Exchange has elected Mahesh C. Khemlani as the next PDE President. Mr. Khemlani, has an extensive background in business and government, including a term as Vice Minister of Finance of the Republic of Panama.

The capital of Latin America’s most valuable luxury market will be the next destination for the Panama Diamond Exchange’s traveling roadshow, which will visit Mexico City from October 4 through October 6.

Mr. Akerman, who has served as Panama Diamond Exchange president since 2008, the year that the diamond bourse was founded, led the organization through its early years, during which it was accepted as a member of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, through to the establishment of its current facility in the Phase I building of the World Jewelry Hub.

The island nation of the Dominican Republic is set to host the Panama Diamond Exchange’s first Caribbean roadshow, which will visit its capital city, Santo Domingo, from September 7 to 9.

Continuing its tour of South America, next stop for the Panama Diamond Exchange’s traveling roadshow is São Paulo, Brazil’s business capital. The PDE delegation will be in town from August 12 to August 15, at the same time the city hosts Feninjer 2015, the country’s largest jewelry trade fair.

The next stop for the Panama Diamond Exchange’s traveling roadshow is the Chilean capital of Santiago, where a delegation of visiting PDE members will meet with key representatives of the local jewelry trade from July 27 through July 29.

The third stop on the South America tour for the Panama Diamond Exchange roadshow was Guayaquil, the largest city and financial center of the Republic Ecuador.

The Panama Diamond Exchange will be heading out into the Latin America jewelry market once again this month, with a roadshow scheduled for the Colombian capital.

A delegation of members of the Panama Diamond Exchange has wrapped up a roadshow to the Peruvian capital of Lima, during which its members met and networked with the country’s leading jewelry retailers.

The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (IKO), a leading jewelry trade organization in Turkey, and the World Jewelry Hub, the first dedicated business center in Latin America for the diamond, colored gemstone and jewelry sectors, have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding, according to which the two sides will cooperate in the growth and development of the jewelry industries and markets and Turkey and Latin America.

The World Jewelry Hub (WJH), the first dedicated diamond, colored gemstone and jewelry trading center in Latin America, was officially inaugurated today in the presence of Panama’s head of state, President Juan Carlos Varela, government representatives, industry leaders and more than 350 members of the business from the region and around the world.

Samsung Electronics and the World Jewelry Hub have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Panama City today, pledging to cooperate strategically with the goal of providing added value to both organizations, as well as their to respective clients and stakeholders, and the Republic of Panama.

A high-level delegation of government and industry officials from India, led by Shri Siddharth, Director General of the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has confirmed its participation in the Grand Opening of World Jewelry Hub in Panama City, April 27-30, 2015.

Visiting the 2015 edition of the Expocomer exposition, which on Monday in Panama’s City’s Atlapa Convention Center, Ms. Shamma Jain, the Ambassador of India to the Republic of Panama, took time from her busy schedule to visit the booth of the World Jewelry Hub and Panama Diamond Exchange, where she was greeted by Eli Izhakoff, the WJH Chairman.

The 2015 edition of Expocomer, Panama’s leading trade exposition, opened its doors on Wednesday, March 11, at the Atlapa Convention Center.

Isaac Btesh, the chief executive of Multibank, one of Panama’s leading financial institutions, has visited his company’s new branch in the Phase I building of the World Jewelry Hub, home of the Panama Diamond Exchange.

With the launch of a dedicated website at www.latamdiamondweek.com, registration has formally opened for the Grand Opening of the Phase I building at the World Jewelry Hub trading complex in Panama City’s exclusive Santa Maria Business District.

While the official Grand Opening the World Jewelry Hub, home of the Panama Diamond Exchange, will take place April 27-30, trading activity in the new headquarters of the only Latin American diamond bourse is already in full swing.

On January 26, India marked for the 65th time its Republic Day, commemorating the formal adoption on the country’s constitution and the day its completed its transition to full independence.

An informal encounter among the holiday revelers in one of Panama City’s most exclusive shopping malls brought together Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and Eli Izhakoff, Founding Chairman of the Panama Diamond Exchange. During their conversation, President Valera pledged his government full support to the PDE.

The Panama Diamond Exchange has concluded a collaboration agreement with Mexico’s largest jewelry association, Cámara de Joyería y Platería de Jalisco, according to which PDE will provide a series of benefits and services that will support and promote the development of the jewelry business in Mexico.

The Panama Diamond Exchange and CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, have agreed to join forces in providing educational programs for the gemstone and jewelry sectors in Latin America, instilling the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility.

With construction of the Phase I building of the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center now complete, companies are presently taking up their allocated offices in the facility, with the building a hive of activity of carpenters, fitters and furniture delivery men.

Fiera di Vicenza, the leading Italian jewelry trade fair organizer, and the Panama Diamond Exchange, have agreed to join forces in the organization of events that will promote the trade in gemstones and jewelry in Latin America.

The Panama Diamond Exchange has announced the appointment of Judy Meana as the organization’s vice president. Ms. Meana, who until today has served as PDE’s Director of Communications, will be responsible for the Latin American diamond bourse’s overall marketing and communications strategy and operation.

With the construction set to begin in 2015 of the Phase II section at the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center, the only dedicated hub for the Latin American diamond, colored gemstone and jewelry trades, its project director and lead architects have visited the Israel Diamond Exchange complex, the world’s largest facility of this type, where they examined and considered similar security, logistic and operational systems being developed for the center in Panama City.

Panama’s Minister of the Presidency, Álvaro Alemán, has met with Eli Izhakoff, Founding Chairman of the Panama Diamond Exchange, and expressed the commitment of the Government of Panama for the establishment in Panama City of Latin America’s first dedicated diamond, colored gemstone and jewelry center, which soon will open in the prestigious Santa Maria Business District.

Eli Izhakoff, Founding Chairman of the Panama Diamond Exchange, has been recognized for his lifetime contribution to corporate social responsibility in the diamond and jewelry sectors by Fiera di Vicenza, the leading Italian trade fair organizer, which bestowed upon him its prestigious Palladio International Jewelry Award.

Providing a range of banking products and services, the Panama City-headquartered bank also has operations in Costa Rica and Colombia, a representative office in Peru, and is the main company in the Multi Financial Group.

As construction of the Phase 1 building at the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center nears completion, the Panama Diamond Exchange reports that about than 80 percent of the offices available in the facility are already leased.

The Panama Diamond Exchange has announced that two leaders of the Latin American gemstone and jewelry industry have been named directors of the organization. They are Hecliton Santini Henriques, President of IBGM, Brazil’s leading gem and jewelry trade association; and Dr. Luciano Pataro, the founder and director of Gold America S.A. in Panama.

Brazil Minerals, Inc., a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Belo Horizonte, has announced that it has held preliminary discussions with the Panama Diamond Exchange.

The Panama Diamond has announced that four key leaders of the international diamond and jewelry industries have joined the Board of Directors of the Panama Diamond Exchange. They are Roberto Coin, the world renowned Italian jewelry designer and manufacturer; Maxim Shkadov, President of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association; Shmuel Schnitzer, President of the Israel Diamond Exchange; and Reuven Kaufman, President of the Diamond Dealers Club of New York.

Members of the Colombian gemstone and jewelry sector are showing a keen interest in the currently under-construction Panama Gem & Jewelry Center, and understand the potential that it and the Panama Diamond Exchange offer for the development of the business in their region, reports Juan Manuel Henriquez, the project manager of the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center, following a series of meetings in Bogota on May 12 and 13.

The Panama Diamond Exchange has launched its official website. Operating in English, Spanish and Portuguese, it is designed to serve as a comprehensive resource about PDE, the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center and the gemstone and jewelry sectors in Panama and Latin America.

The Panama Diamond Exchange releases a six-minute video clip with scenes from the launch of the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center in Panama City, March 16-18, 2014. The video clip includes footage of the first Latin America Diamond & Jewelry Summit, which was held as part of the launch event on March 18.

The first phase of the development involves a two-story building that will serve as the headquarters of PDE, including its administrative offices and 300 square-meter trading floor. The building will also provide office space for up to 59 companies.

Panama, President Martinelli said, has one of most connected economies in the region. It may be small in terms of physical dimensions, but not in terms of vision, he added.

The summit was a highlight of the two-day launch of the Panama & Jewelry Center, on March 17 and 18.

All of the PDE directors and founding members are in Panama attending the launch event. The Hon. Founding Chairman of the PDE Board of Directors is Eli Izhakoff.