Angola Aiming to be KP Vice-Chair in 2014, Says Vice President

(IDEX Online News) – Angola is seeking to be appointed as vice-chair of the Kimberley Process (KP) for 2014, Angolan vice-president Manuel Domingos Vicente told The Angola Centenary Diamond Conference at the official opening today (Thursday).

In a later press statement, Endiama said the decision regarding the next KP vice-chair will be taken during the next KPCS Plenary in Johannesburg in December under the Chair of South Africa. The Chair of the KPCS in 2014 will be China. If Angola is appointed vice-chair, it would take over as Chair of the KP in 2015.

Angola chairs the important position of the Working Group of Artisanal and Alluvial Producers (WGAAP).

Paulo M'Vika, Chair of the WGAAP said: “As an important producer we have been instrumental in the Washington Declaration aimed to improve the situation of artisanal miners on our continent. The Washington Declaration was a welcome complement to the earlier Moscow Declaration. We are ready as a Vice Chair to take up an even more engaging role in the future.”

During his speech, Vicente said that during that diamonds were widely used to finance the country's 1975-2002 civil war, but with the end of the internecine conflict the government has made great efforts to ensure the eradication of conflict diamonds.

He said the government also aimed to eradicate illegal mining in the country and encourage artisanal mining.

Domingos Vicente said the country's diamond industry has a high priority in Angola's long-term economic strategy through to 2025. The objectives of the economic plan are to bring added value to the national economy, contribute to its diversification and play a part in the sustainable development of the economy.

He also said that as part of the country's medium-term development plan, a large-scale geological mapping exercise is taking place to determine possible diamond areas.

Endiama Chairman and CEO Antonio Carlos Sumbula said that following the discovery of diamonds in the country 100 years ago it has become the fifth largest diamond producer in the world and the third largest in Africa.