The Istanbul Chamber of Jewelry (IKO), jewellery trade organisation in Turkey, and the World Jewelry Hub (WJH), the first dedicated business centre in Latin America for the diamond, coloured gemstone and jewellery sectors, have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding on 18 June 2015.
According to the MOU, the two sides will cooperate in the growth and development of the jewellery industries and markets in Turkey and Latin America. Norayr İsler, chairman of the board of directors of IKO, and Eli Izhakoff, chairman of WJH signed the MOU during the Presidents’ Meeting of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) in Tel Aviv, Israel.
With close to 4,000 members, IKO saw an increase of its exports by 28 percent in 2014 to US$4.5 billion. The organisation provides a range of administrative, professional, economic and educational services, all of which are intended to benefit the Turkish jewellery industry, and to raise its profile globally. As its initiative, the Diamond Dealers Club of Turkey was established, and the new bourse has formally applied for the membership in WFDB.
İsler said: “This is a very significant agreement, because in many respects our two organisations represent the future growth of the international gemstone and jewellery industries. As a market in its own right, and a springboard into the Eastern and Central Asia, Turkey is a channel to a region that is already important, and is likely to increase in volume and value significantly during the coming year. At the same time, Panama is set to become an access point to Latin America, one of the world’s most exciting growth markets.”
“There is a natural synergy between our two centres,” said Izhakoff. “As one of the world’s top five gold jewellery producers, Turkey’s jewellery industry is an easy fit for Latin America, and WJH is uniquely equipped to enable our members to enter into the market. We are also an important source of gemstones, precious metals and finished jewellery produced in Latin America, and this expands the range of possibilities for the Turkish jewellery industry.”
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