Surat, May 17 (KNN) A delegation from Russia’s Yakutia province in a meeting with Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) offered Surat’s diamond industry space in its free trade zone and easing out visa hassles.

A delegation from the Sakha Republic in the Yakutia province on Thursday invited diamond and jewellery manufacturers of Surat to invest in factories where they would get direct supply of first grade rough diamonds.

The visit to Surat, a leading hub of the diamond polishing industry in the world, comes exactly a year after the US imposed sanctions on Alrosa, a Russian state-owned mining company from where Surat sourced 30 per cent of its diamonds after the Russia-Ukraine war.

In the last one year, the imports of rough diamonds from Alrosa to Surat have come down to eight per cent, GJEPC Gujarat chairman Vijay Mangukiya said.

The delegation also invited GJEPC and Jewellers Association members to visit Sakha Republic and see the infrastructure at the special economic zone.

Maintaining that they would offer the manufacturers tax benefits, the delegation said they would take part in the ‘Vibrant Gujarat Summit’ next January.

Addressing the GJPEC’s occasion, Deputy Chairman of the government of Sakha Republic, Kim A Borisov said, “Sakha Republic is famous for diamond mining and over 90 per cent of Russian diamonds are mined from there. Alrosa company’s head office is also in Sakha.”

“This is for the first time we have come to Surat. We have a few diamond companies owned by Indians who are doing well. Both the governments (Indian and Russia) have age-old relations,” he said.

Inviting the Surat jewellery manufacturers to Yakutia city, Borisov said, “we have organised a diamond and jewellery cluster for joint project for companies and had a good experience with the Indian companies.”

“Indian traders and businessmen should do a joint venture with SAYBM Diamond jewellery company at Yakutia so that they would have direct access to purchase rough diamonds of Alrosa,” he added.  (KNN Bureau)