CIBJO President meets with Thailand’s Minister of Commerce
in preparation of 2017 CIBJO Congress in Bangkok
ABOVE: CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri (left), outlining preparations for the 2017 CIBJO Congress for Mrs. Apiradi Tantraporn (centre), the Minister of Commerce of the Kingdom of Thailand, as Rachane Potjanasuntorn, Chairman of GIT, looks on.
JUNE 19, 2017
CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri has met in Bangkok with Mrs. Apiradi Tantraporn, the Minister of Commerce of the Kingdom of Thailand, to discuss preparations for the 2017 CIBJO Congress, which will take place in the city in November, and also ways in which CIBJO and the congress can assist in enhancing the role of Thailand in the international jewellery and gemstone business.
The 2017 CIBJO Congress is being hosted by the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) and the Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT), both of which fall under the jurisdiction of the Thai Ministry of Commerce. The meeting with the minister was also attended by Rachane Potjanasuntorn, Chairman of GIT, and Somdet Susomboon, Deputy Director General of DITP, as well as senior members of the Thai team that is helping organise the event.
During the meeting, Dr. Cavalieri expressed his wish that the congress will assist Thailand in reclaiming its position as a leading trade and manufacturing centre in the international gemstone and jewellery trade. Not only should the country serve as the epicentre of the business in the ASEAN block, which by itself is home to an increasingly affluent population of more than 600 million, but it should emphasize its specific Thai identity, skill and expertise, rather than operating predominantly as production service-provider for companies from other countries, he stated.
The Minister of Commerce thanked CIBJO for its support, and stressed that her ministry and the Thai government are instituting a programme to enhance both the strategic position and value of the Thai gemstone and jewellery sector. The holding of the 2017 CIBJO Congress in Bangkok is part of that effort, Mrs. Tantraporn stated.
The 2017 CIBJO Congress will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, November 5-7, 2017, with pre-congress meetings beginning on November 2. The World Ruby Forum, which is being organised by GIT in conjunction with the congress, will take place November 4. The main venue for the CIBJO Congress and the official congress hotel will be the Shangri-La Bangkok.
As the official venue for the meeting of the CIBJO Assembly of Delegates, the CIBJO Congress will gather in Bangkok the members of national jewellery and gemstone associations from more than 40 countries and representatives of many of the industry’s most important commercial bodies. The congress also serves as a forum for CIBJO’s professional commissions, and is the venue at which its Diamond, Coloured Stones, Pearl, Coral, Precious Metals and Gemmological Blue Books are discussed and updated. The CIBJO Congress is also where the programme of World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), relating to responsible and sustainable activities in the industry, and CIBJO’s ongoing cooperation with the United Nations and its development programme is reported upon.
CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri (left), signing the memorial book for King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who died in October 2016 and still is officially being mourned, during his visit to the Ministry of Commerce in Bangkok.