Gold & Jewellery Group and Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre to host first ever Dubai Pavilion at Baselworld 2004 jewellery exhibition

Held in Basel, Switzerland, from April 15 to 22, the exhibition has been identified as the perfect opportunity to promote Dubai on the international marketplace. Around 2,100 exhibitors from the fields of watches, jewellery, precious stones and allied sectors will attend and the event is expected to attract 80,000 watch and jewellery manufacturers from all over the globe. The Dubai pavilion is one of the foremost new participants at Baselworld this year, the stand exceeding 60 meters in area.

"Our decision to exhibit at Baselworld a strategic step in the realisation of the Gold and Jewellery Group's vision to develop Dubai as a jewellery manufacturing centre of excellence, and also as an international hub for the trade and manufacture of products related to gold, diamonds, gemstones and precious metals. The group has identified Baselworld as the perfect launch pad from which to spearhead the group's international ambition to bring Dubai, and its many fantastic industry benefits, to the attention of the international jewellery trade," said Andre Bisang, Gold and Jewellery Group Chief Advisor.

While in Baselworld, the Group also hopes to aggressively promote its vision of the 'Dubai Initiative' and the proposed World Jewellery Marketing Body, two strategic initiatives which were introduced by Tawhid Abdullah as part of the recent 2nd Dubai City of Gold Conference, held in Dubai late last year.

"The Gold and Jewellery Group have held hugely successful international jewellery conferences here in Dubai in the recent past, and now we feel it is time for us to travel to meet our international partners to forge the relationships that will lay the foundation for our global ambitions. International leaders of the jewellery industry, and related trades, have been incredibly impressed by the initiatives which we have generated here in Dubai, and we greatly look forward to travelling with our delegation of industry leaders and key Dubai based retailers to further showcase our core strengths" he concluded.

Briefing on the Group's aims for the event, Chetan Karani, GJG- Baselworld Committee Chairman, said: "Our attempt at the Baselworld will be to capitalise on our growth potential as an international hub. A delegation of 11 Dubai based jewellery traders are set to showcase their exquisite designs in the Basel world. For sometime now Dubai jewellery trade is known for the variety that it has to offer. We feel that our unique selling proposition 'Quality Jewellery at the World's best price' can attract the attention of Basel trade visitors. We expect that the interaction with the international jewellery community will create huge opportunities. It is a key point of the Gold &Jewellery Groups ongoing strategy of international promotion to interact with the jewellery community wherever viable and where better than at the best exhibition of its kind - Baselworld 2004."

Speaking about the joint delegation to Basel, Ahmed bin Sulayem, COO, DMCC, said: "The decision that DMCC and the Gold and Jewellery Group have taken to have a presence at Baselworld 2004 is a very strategic one. At the exhibition, it is our united aim to educate the segment of Dubai's growth potential, and to also to promote the Emirate as an ideal destination for business. Our activities during Baselworld 2004 will focus on the promotion of Dubai as an emerging hub for the gold, diamonds and commodities trades - highlighting the entire value chain from sourcing the raw materials to the finished product," he concluded.