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.
Over the past several months Ambassador Jain has been in regular contact with the World Jewelry Hub and Panama Diamond Exchange, which over the coming few years is likely to be a key catalyst for the deepening economic ties between Panama and India. The new jewelry-trading center will serve a primary springboard into Latin America for India, which is the world’s largest polished diamond producer, the world’s largest gold importer and one of world’s largest finished jewelry manufacturers.
More than nine out of every 10 diamonds produced are cut and polished in India, where the gems and jewelry sector contribute around between 6 percent and 7 percent of the country’s GDP. The domestic gemstone and jewelry industry was worth $40.45 billion in 2013, and has the potential to grow to $85.43 billion by 2018, according to a study by a leading industry body. The study also projected that India’s own gem and jewelry market would double in the next five years.
A significant number of the companies that have taken up residence in the first building of developing World Jewelry Hub are Indian affiliated, either directly or through Indian-owned companies in the United States, Belgium and Israel.
The World Jewelry Hub and Panama Diamond Exchange are official sponsors of Expocomer 2015, Panama’s leading trade exposition, which will run through March 14. The show, which is organized by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Panama, features exhibitors from across the economic spectrum, and attracts visitors from more than 30 countries in the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean
Each day at the Expocomer show, the WJH-PDE booth will feature three of the diamond, gemstone and jewelry companies that are already operating in the Phase 1 building of the World Jewelry Hub.