Central African States Plan to Review Diamond Production
July 25, 04
Central African countries are planning to meet in Brazzaville to review production of the region’s diamond resources, according to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) vice-president.
The planned meeting, whose date has yet to be decided, comes after the Kimberley Process suspended the Republic of Congo after accusing it of illegal diamond trafficking.
The foreign ministers of the central African states involved, the DRC, Angola, the Central African Republic and DRC's smaller neighbor the Republic of Congo, will organize the meeting, said DRC vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba.
Bemba said he raised the subject of a regional diamond producers' meeting during talks with RoC President Denis Sassou Nguesso.
Congo was suspended from the KP earlier this month after a fact-finding mission to the country in May when a KP panel found the country was exporting diamonds of unknown origin.