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Minsk and Moscow discuss cooperation on precious metals and stones — ministry

It is noted that particular attention was paid to the creation of "industrial digital space and the deepening of cooperative ties between economic entities of the jewelry market in Russia and Belarus"

MINSK, November 28. /TASS/. Belarus and Russia discussed cooperation on activities with precious metals and stones, the press service of the Ministry of Finance of Belarus announced on Monday. The statement was made after the meeting of Deputy Finance Ministers of the two countries Vladislav Tatarinovich and Alexey Moiseev.

"During the meeting, the parties discussed a wide range of issues related to circulation of precious metals, precious stones and products made from them, including interaction in the movement of jewelry and other household products between our countries, as well as between national labelling systems," the statement says.

Particular attention was paid to the creation of "industrial digital space and the deepening of cooperative ties between economic entities of the jewelry market in Russia and Belarus."

In his speech, Deputy Minister of Finance of Belarus Vladislav Tatarinovich praised "the constructive position of Russian colleagues in all areas of cooperation in the field of precious metals and precious stones and the operational interaction of the Ministries of Finance of Russia and Belarus."

"Among the effective areas of interaction, they underscored a joint work as part of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, including during the plenary meeting in Gaborone (Botswana) in November of this year," the ministry’s press service says.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is the process established in 2003 to prevent "conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by UN General Assembly Resolution. Such gems are mined illegally, and the money from the sale is used to finance regional conflicts and international terrorist groups.

Earlier, the Ministry of Finance of Belarus announced that it had begun selling gold bars of various denominations and domestically produced diamonds.

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