DiamondBuzz
Israel Delegation at Qatar Diamond Conference
It’s a notable development in what has been a stormy relationship between two countries that have no official diplomatic ties.
A delegation from Israel visited Qatar for the inaugural Doha International Diamond and Gem Conference.It’s a notable development in what has been a stormy relationship between two countries that have no official diplomatic ties. Qatar was the first Gulf state to establish official relations with Israel, which opened a trade office in Doha in 1996.But those ties were severed ties in 2009 during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza and have not been restored since.
The delegation included Nissim Zuaretz, president of the Israel Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan, and Eran Zini, its CEO. They were invited by the Qatari minister of commerce and industry Faisal Al-Thani, they entered the country on their Israeli passports and no attempts were made to conceal the fact that they were from Israel, according to a Globes report.
The three-day conference in Doha, at the end of last month, discussed “out-of-the-box strategies” to advance the diamond and colored gemstone industry, with over 200 visitors from 30 countries.
“The dialogue with them was very pleasant, and they received us respectfully,” Zuaretz told the Globes financial news “They know the potential of the Israelis, and what is happening with Trump may bring about a change in the economic strategy with them.”
Qatar hosted the leaders of Hamas until November 2024, played a key role in mediating talks between Israel and the Palestinians in the ongoing Gaza war and has donated over $6bn to US universities to expand its influence and promote its interests.
DiamondBuzz
De Beers Group Sets Out Portfolio and Organisational Actions to Support Long-Term Value Creation
Company outlines strategic cost optimisation, portfolio streamlining and operational changes to strengthen resilience while positioning for long-term growth in the natural diamond industry.
De Beers Group is advancing delivery of its business streamlining by setting out a number of planned portfolio and organisational changes to ensure an efficient cost base that strengthens resilience in the near-term while enhancing future competitiveness and retaining optionality as industry conditions improve.
Since 2024, De Beers has been streamlining its business in line with its Origins strategy to reduce costs, divest non-core assets and prioritise investment in activities that create the most value. Significant progress has been made, with more than $100 million of annual overhead costs removed from the business, the sale or closure of a number of non-core assets and significant capital and cost reconfigurations to asset expansion projects.
Simultaneously, De Beers has reinvested in natural diamond category marketing to support the industry’s efforts to grow natural diamond demand, launching new large-scale campaigns and collaborating with key stakeholders across the value chain to foster industry-wide investment. Global consumer demand for natural diamond jewellery returned to growth in 2025, while natural diamond sales increased across US independent jewellers in 2025 and into Q1 2026, led by higher value diamonds and those promoted by De Beers’ Desert Diamonds marketing campaign.
On the supply side, global rough diamond production is now decreasing, with several producers closing mines during 2026. Whilst the increasing rarity of diamonds and the emerging signs of improvement in consumer demand are likely to support longer-term value creation, rough diamond trading conditions are expected to remain challenging in the near-term due to cyclical and industry-specific factors.
Consistent with recent actions to improve business resilience, De Beers intends to pause production at the Venetia mine in South Africa for two years to reduce costs while also rephasing capital expenditure on its underground project. This will involve critical infrastructure investment to enhance the capacity and efficiency of the mine, with the intention to support future production growth as business and industry conditions improve.
De Beers is engaging with stakeholders in accordance with relevant requirements and the company’s values as it moves through this process, and will both support impacted employees and continue to invest in its community and Social and Labour Plan commitments.
This proposed action at Venetia Mine follows the decision earlier this year to pause the Tuzo Phase 3 expansion project at the Gahcho Kué Mine in Canada.
In parallel, De Beers plans to reconfigure its global operating model to refocus and prioritise resources on the core operational businesses and reduce its central corporate cost base.
Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group, said:

“In line with our commitment to focus and streamline our business, we are making a number of changes to De Beers to ensure greater business resilience in the near-term, while supporting long-term value creation. We recognise the protracted challenging conditions as the diamond industry evolves, though we are encouraged by signs of consumer demand growth in the US and beyond, particularly in higher quality diamonds.
Global rough diamond supply is falling, bringing more support to the market. The changes we are making to our business are focused on underpinning our efficiency now and into the future, favourably positioning De Beers in its leadership role.”
De Beers Group will maintain current production levels through its other operations, and previous production guidance remains unchanged.
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