ArmInfo. On December 22, RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan met with representatives of the diamond and jewelry industry of Armenia. The meeting was attended by Adviser to the Minister Gagik Mkrtchyan and Head of the Industrial Development Department Armen Yeganyan, the ministry's press service reports.
According to the source, the representatives of the field thanked the minister for the meeting, congratulated him on the appointment, hoping that familiarity with business problems will contribute to their quick and effective solution. During the meeting, the priority issues of the sector, the possibilities of their solution and forthcoming actions were discussed. In particular, they discussed issues related to the purchase of rough diamonds, the export of jewelry, customs duties, value added tax, registration and issuance of Kimberley Process certificates, licenses, notifications. The meeting also discussed the problems of customs clearance, simplification and acceleration of document flow, development of opportunities for the provision of documents in electronic form.
The issues of cooperation between representatives of the jewelry industry of diamond companies in Armenia and the possibility of using cut diamonds in the production of jewelry were discussed.
The meeting participants also touched upon the process of mutual recognition of labeling in the EAEU, harmonization of procedures in the field of diamonds and jewelry. When discussing the possibilities of state support for the import of rough diamonds from the Russian Federation, representatives of the field noted that negotiations with the Russian company AlRosa and Gokhran on the provision of raw materials at the state level can be very effective. They also touched upon the problems arising on the ground due to the coronavirus.
The issues were raised regarding the expansion of the market. In this regard, the minister proposed to consider the Iranian market as a new promising area of cooperation. At the end of the meeting, Vahan Kerobyan noted that such discussions will continue (they will be held within the framework of visits to the companies), adding that it is necessary to try to understand the existing problems and move forward.
