Surat: India, as chair of the Kimberley Process (KP), will host an intersessional meeting in Mumbai next week where member countries are expected to debate proposals to expand the definition of “conflict diamonds” amid geopolitical and trade sensitivities.The Kimberley Process intersessional meeting will focus on widening the definition of “conflict diamonds”. Several member countries are pushing to include rough diamonds that may be financing wars between states, going beyond the current focus on rebel-linked trade. For 2026, India will continue as KP chair. The Kimberley Process is a tripartite initiative involving govt, the international diamond industry and civil society to prevent trade in “conflict diamonds” — rough diamonds used by rebel groups to finance conflicts that undermine legitimate govt, as defined in United Nations Security Council resolutions. India has taken over the KP chair for the third time. Member countries advocating for the change argue that the current definition should be broadened to cover rough diamonds that may indirectly finance conflicts, including wars between states. The push is widely seen as an attempt to bring Russian rough diamond supplies under the KP framework to mount pressure over the ongoing war with Ukraine. For India, the issue presents a complex balancing act. Russia accounts for nearly 30% of the global rough diamond supply, while India’s cutting and polishing industry processes about 90% of the world’s diamonds. A substantial share of rough diamonds flows into India, sustaining employment for thousands. Russian rough diamonds, often smaller in size, are typically more labour-intensive to process, further deepening India’s economic stake in the debate. During a recent visit to Surat, Ukraine ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk said India should also consider the perspective of countries affected by wars financed by the diamond trade. Speaking to TOI, Polishchuk said, “Next week there will be a big gathering of KP hosted by India of experts from around the world in Mumbai. They will discuss how to stop profits from the diamond trade going towards funding of war.” “We have no objection to the diamond business in India. What we definitely don’t like is when some companies enable the diamond trade to fund aggressive military actions in other countries’ territory,” he added. A Ukraine embassy delegation visited the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Summit and took part in a session on education and business opportunities in Ukraine. The delegation also visited a lab-grown diamond manufacturing unit. A significant section of the diamond cutting and polishing workforce has been finding employment in the lab-grown diamond sector due to the slowdown in the natural diamond trade due to weak global demand and sanctions affecting Russian rough supplies.
