In recent years, trade wars, economic instability and globalization has affected gems and jewelry businesses across the world. To combat with the shifting trade situation in many countries, the gems and jewelry industry have formed alliances to facilitate trading and gather experts in the industry to explore the future of the gems and jewelry industry.

Therefore, on October 8 to 12, 2019, the ASEAN Gems and Jewellery Trade Association or AGJA organized its first-ever conference in Istanbul, Turkey, as a platform where associations, academics, trade representatives, and everyone in the gems and jewelry industry worldwide had an opportunity to openly discuss issues relating to gems and jewelry among their peers.

Highlight topics at the conference included “Trade Wars, Expectations, Future of the Economy”, “Marketing Strategies for New Generation”, “Responsible Gold Supply”, and “Easy Trade, Trade Wars, Free Trade Agreements”, from keynote speakers as well as panelists.

At the event, Mr. Suttipong Damrongsakul, Chairman of AGJA, delivered a closing speech at the conference thanking all participants for a fruitful day of discussions.

“Here at our inaugural AGJA Conference, we have together witnessed a successful day of intriguing talks and discussions on various topics in the global gems and jewelry industry from our expert speakers and representatives from various organizations and associations from around the world,” he said.

“Since last year, many of us have been concerned about the trade wars between major countries in the world, as Professor Alkin talked about during his keynote speech on the future of economy and how we can handle this shifting landscape. This ongoing issue of trade wars and free trade agreements were also explored in the session led by Dr. Aung Kyaw Win, Mr. Pramod Kumar Agrawal, Mr. Chung Fai Lo, and Mr. Fatih Kemahli, and we heard about the ways that the gems and jewelry industry can play a role in driving the economies of our respective countries through trade and mutual cooperation,” added Mr. Suttipong.

The chairman of AGJA also noted that to move forward, the gems and jewelry industry should pay attention to the new generation of buyers and consumers.

“Another brighter side to the jewelry industry is that the younger generations are now becoming buyers themselves, as we all heard in the panel discussion on “Marketing Strategies for the New Generation” which offered many of us new ideas and insights on how to attract younger consumers,” he said.
Overall, the inaugural AGJA conference welcomed representatives from 39 countries and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants. The conference was deemed a great success, as countries such as the UAE, Qatar, Italy, and India also expressed their interest in holding AGJA conferences in the future.

Mr. Suttipong revealed that with the success of this edition of AGJA conference, the gems and jewelry industry can look forward to more collaborations in the near future with AGJA driving engagement from its member countries as well as trade partners.

“With this event and the cooperation that we are embarking on together as alliances, the ASEAN Gems and Jewellery Trade Association is truly the beginning of greater collaboration among gems and jewelry professionals in the ASEAN region and beyond.”