Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday suggested India and Belgium should work together on the lab-grown diamonds front.
Speaking at a high-level dialogue on the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the presence of visiting Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, Goyal said the two countries need to work on technology and certification aspects of lab-grown diamonds.
Outlining gems and jewellery as the top area where the two economies complement each other, Goyal said, "Let us co-create, design, maybe lab-grown diamonds would be a new area we should look at working together in."
The initiative can be anchored in Antwerp, a major marketplace for rough diamonds, and in Mumbai and Surat, Indian cities at the forefront of diamond polishing.
Earlier in the day, Wever inaugurated a Belgian diamond grading company HRD Antwerp's expanded facility at the Bharat Diamond Bourse, which will increase research capacity by 30 per cent, as per an official statement.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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