Diamond deals to add sparkle to India-Russian ties

MUMBAI, Dec 9 (AFP): India's gemstone industry will hope to add some sparkle to ties between New Delhi and Moscow this week by persuading Russia to massively increase its exports of diamonds direct to the global hub of cutting and polishing.
Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to the Indian capital from Wednesday is expected to see landmark deals clinched on natural gas and nuclear power.
But the Russian president is also due to attend the inaugural World Diamond Conference, starting Thursday, which aims to raise Mumbai's status as a major diamond trading centre.
Russia is the world's top producer of rough diamonds and the majority of them pass through India, where a cheap workforce cuts and polishes the gemstones before most are exported again for use in jewellery.
But only about a fifth of rough produce is sold directly from Russian mines to India, with the rest passing through diamond hubs such as Antwerp and Dubai -- something that may be about to change.
At the conference in Delhi, Russian state-controlled mining group Alrosa is due to sign about a dozen long-term contracts with Indian companies, according to India's Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
"We are trying to convince the Russian president that Alrosa... needs to have more supplies directly to Indian companies, as India is the natural partner for the Russians," GJEPC chairman Vipul Shah told AFP.
Putin's trip is his first to the country since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May on pledges of kickstarting India's stuttering economy.
Despite years of strong relations, bilateral trade stands at just $10 billion, and the diamond segment is seen as an opportune area for growth.
Russia exports $4-billion worth of rough diamonds, but currently only about $800 million of them go directly to India, said Shah -- despite the fact that 14 out of 15 of the world's rough diamonds are cut and polished there.
"India is one of the largest markets in the world for Russia. Diamonds are a good way to get off on a good footing," said Rajrishi Singhal of the Mumbai-based Gateway House think tank.
Diamond traders say Russia has traditionally been wary of direct sales to India owing to bureaucratic and taxation hurdles, preferring to deal with middlemen traders in Belgium and the United Arab Emirates.
But recent European sanctions on Moscow over its activities in Ukraine and efforts by the Indian government to enhance the business climate appear to be changing sentiment.
"Certainly there is a discussion on making Mumbai a world-class trading hub," a senior Indian government official told reporters in New Delhi on Friday.
"The discussion is about how to increase the imports of rough diamonds from Russia to India."