Moscow, May 23rd, 2016 – ALROSA, the World’s largest producer of rough diamonds, is proud to announce that the Company’s Vice President Mr.Andrey Polyakov has assumed the elected position of the President of the World Diamond Council (WDC) starting from May 22, 2016.

Andrey Polyakov served as Vice President of the WDC since 2015. Per the WDC bylaws, the Vice President of the Council becomes the head of the organization. Andrey Polyakov now succeeds Edward Asscher whose two-year term as WDC President concluded on May 22, 2016.

The World Diamond Council brings together representatives of the entire international diamond industry supply chain, from mining through retail. WDC represents the diamond industry in the Kimberley Process, the body created to eradicate conflict diamonds from entering the legitimate diamond supply chain. Conflict diamonds are rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments.

As the WDC President, Andrey Polyakov will continue to work on the development of the WDC and the strengthening of its role in the work of the Kimberley Process to protect the integrity and reputation of the industry.

“Diamond possesses not only material but also emotional value, symbolizing love, family, obligation and loyalty. Realizing the importance of this, the WDC aims at representing the interests of the industry at the KP, protecting its reputation and integrity for the millions of people involved in the modern diamond industry, in the interests of customers and the future of the entire industry. I am sure that joint efforts of WDC participants and readiness for dialogue will allow us to achieve success", stated Andrey Polyakov.