Indo-Belgian Diamond Forum Unites Industry Leaders in New Delhi to Strengthen Trade Ties

The residence of Belgian Ambassador Didier Vanderhasselt in New Delhi served as the setting for what organizers described as the first Indo-Belgian Diamond Forum, a high-level convening that drew between 300 and 400 diamond industry professionals, government officials, and diplomats on March 16, 2026.

HRD Antwerp, which initiated the forum and bills itself as Europe's leading authority in diamond and jewellery grading, co-hosted the event alongside the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and the Embassy of Belgium in India. HRD Antwerp's COO Stanley De Belie and Managing Director India Ramakant Mitkar represented the Antwerp institution at the gathering, joining GJEPC Chairman Kirit Bhansali, Vice Chairman Shaunak Parikh, Events Convener Mansukh Kothari, and Executive Director Sabyasachi Ray for the inauguration ceremony.

"Speeches, presentations and panel discussions made the Indo-Belgian Diamond Forum an exceptional event, as much an expression of the strong diamond partnership between Belgium and India as a commitment to shaping the future of the diamond industry in close collaboration," wrote Frank Geerkens, who attended the forum, in a LinkedIn post following the evening.

The forum's central panel addressed four themes that currently define the pressure points of the natural diamond trade: consumer preferences, the branding of natural diamonds, technological innovation, and the specific mechanics of strengthening Indo-Belgian commercial ties. Moderator Prasad Kapre, an industry analyst and consultant at Blue Sky Business Management Group, guided the discussion on the future of natural diamonds and global market dynamics. The panel featured Shaunak Parikh and Sabyasachi Ray from GJEPC; Toranj Mehta, Vice President of Marketing at De Beers India; Priyal Shankar, Director of Shivam Jewels; Oushnik Chandra, CEO of PC Chandra Jewellers; and Ramakant Mitkar of HRD Antwerp.

The presence of De Beers India on the panel carried structural weight beyond a single voice: the forum itself was powered by INDRA, the natural diamond retail accelerator operated jointly by De Beers Group and GJEPC, underscoring how tightly the two nations' institutional interests are already interlocked. Shivam Jewels served as Diamond Partner, BVC Logistics as Logistics Partner, and Business of Jewellery as Media Partner.

Commenting on the forum's significance, attendee Lalit Thakur noted that "Belgium's leadership in diamond grading and India's global role in diamonds and jewellery make this partnership uniquely positioned to drive standards, innovation and sustainable growth for the industry." The observation points to a complementarity that has long defined the Antwerp-Mumbai-Surat corridor: Belgium grounds the trade in grading authority while India commands the cutting, polishing, and increasingly the retail end of the pipeline.

Whether the forum produces formal trade frameworks or functions primarily as relationship architecture, the gathering marks a deliberate institutional step toward formalizing a partnership that has operated more by commercial gravity than by coordinated policy. A second edition, should organizers choose to convene one, would arrive with an established cast, a tested format, and a venue that lent the inaugural meeting its particular register of diplomatic seriousness.