Liberia President Sirleaf-Johnson to Speak at Diamond Conference

Princess Mathilde of Belgium and H.E. Sirleaf-Johnson, president of Liberia, are scheduled to attend the gala dinner of the Antwerp Diamond Conference in October. They will be joined by musician and activist Sir Bob Geldof.

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), previously known as the HRD, will hold the conference October 15-16, focusing this year on diamond producing countries, primarily African.

A number of heads of state and other senior ministers are slated to participate in the panel discussions, to be moderated by industry analyst Chaim Even Zohar.

The conference, entitled ‘Producers in Transition: the Changing Industry Dynamic’, will examine the shift of power in the diamond industry, in particular the emerging strength of the producer countries and their determination to capture more of the value chain.

Other participants in the conference include Angola’s Deputy Prime Minister Aguinaldo Jaime; South African Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica; Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz; Kimberley Process chairman Karel Kovanda; Alrosa President Sergey Vybornov and De Beers Managing Director Gareth Penny.