MUMBAI, Dec 9, (AFP): India’s gem- stone industry will hope to add some sparkle to ties between New Delhi and Moscow this week by persuading Russia to massively increase its exports of dia- monds direct to the global hub of cutting and polishing.
Vladimir Putin’s two-day visit to the Indian capital from Wednesday is expect- ed to see landmark deals clinched on nat- ural gas and nuclear power.
But the Russian president is also due to attend the inaugural World Diamond Conference, starting Thursday, which aims to raise Mumbai’s status as a major diamond trading centre.
Russia is the world’s top producer of rough diamonds and the majority of them pass through India, where a cheap work- force cuts and polishes the gemstones before most are exported again for use in jewellery.