Kimberley Process (KP) chair Ahmed Bin Sulayem of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has revealed that more than 1.06-billion carats of combined rough and polished diamonds were traded through Dubai in the past five years.

The UAE currently holds the KP chair for the third time, reporting that almost 179-million carats of rough and polished diamonds were traded in Dubai in 2024 alone, making the UAE one of the world’s largest diamond trade hubs.

The UAE was the first and only Arab country to chair the KP, which is an international group tasked with regulating the global diamond trade, in 2016. Established in 2003 by the UN, 85 participating countries seek to ensure that unregulated rough diamonds do not enter the legitimate diamond market as a means to finance conflict.

Sulayem announced the figures during the UN-mandated KP intersessional meeting, hosted last week at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre’s Uptown Tower. The event brought together hundreds of senior representatives from governments, industry, and civil society.

The week-long Intersessional featured high-level discussions and concluded with a special plenary session, held for only the second time in the KP’s 22-year history.

Key highlights included the launch of Verifico, a digital platform developed under the UAE chair to enhance the security and traceability of KP certificates. Verifico will be offered to all KP participants as part of the UAE’s broader digital modernisation drive.

The meeting also saw the UAE call for a first-ever ministerial meeting of KP participants to confront the most urgent challenges facing the KP and the global diamond trade.

“There are three markets currently keeping the diamond industry alive. The first is the US as the largest jewellery retail market, the second is India as the world’s cutting and polishing hub, and the third is the UAE, as the largest rough diamond hub in the world. We need the KP to remain focused, so that all of us can continue to support trade growth, resilience and development,” Sulayem said at the event.

He called for a high-level ministerial meeting of the KP that would bring together producing, trading and consumer countries at the political level to chart a path forward on the most urgent challenges facing the KP.

“Diamonds have been central to this nation’s growth narrative. From humble beginnings, Dubai has grown to become the world’s leading rough diamond trading hub – a position it continues to hold despite recent pressures on diamond prices.

“This achievement aligns fully with our economic diversification objectives and highlights the strategic importance of diamonds for the UAE, and our commitment to invest in its ecosystem,” UAE Ministry of Economy acting assistant undersecretary for the commercial control and governance sector Safeya Hashem Al Safi said during her address on the opening day.

World Diamond Council president Feriel Zerouki praised Sulayem and his vision for the diamond industry.

“What [Sulayem] has achieved for the diamond industry in the UAE demonstrates real vision, and we have all benefited from his steady guidance. His decision to define the last two years as the ‘year of delivery’ and the ‘year of best practice’ has been a brilliant strategy.

“It provided us with the focus and environment needed to push through challenges that have persisted for years. His inclusive approach brought the KP family, participants and observers closer together at a critical time and helped us get to where we are today,” she said.

“Last year, the Civil Society Coalition was drawn in by the KP chair’s 2024 slogan ‘year of delivery’. The coalition expects the KP to deliver on KP reforms. This requires a renewed and collective effort to give the needed reform a fair chance during this last year of the ongoing KP reform cycle,” Civil Society Coalition representative Jaff Bamenjo added.