Jaishankar met Theodora Gentzis, the Secretary-General of the Belgian Foreign Ministry, here on Tuesday.
New Delhi is concerned over Western ban on rough diamond imports from Russia, the world’s biggest diamond producer and the biggest source of raw material for India’s thriving polished diamond industry located in Surat.
This year, the G7 nations introduced an “import ban” on non-industrial diamonds mined, processed or produced in Russia as part of the 12th round of sanctions. Since March, the G7 ban has been expanded to cover Russian-origin diamond imports from third countries, putting the Surat industry in a fix.
According to industry statistics, nearly 90 percent of the world’s rough diamonds are polished and exported from Surat. The US has traditionally been the biggest market for diamonds polished in India.
“Their intention is to hurt Russia. But it doesn’t work that way. The producer usually finds a way. More than Russia, such steps tend to hurt those lower in the supply chain. Our efforts are aimed at softening, delaying or stopping that from happening. It’s a priority issue for us now,” Jaishankar told an industry event in Surat last week.Belgium is the global hub of polished diamonds.