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RAPAPORT... Press Release: A dedicated website has been established for the official launch of the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center on March 17 and 18, enabling participants to register online and book flights and hotel rates at especially discounted rates. The website at www.pdecenterlaunch.com may be viewed in Spanish and English. Anchored by the Panama Diamond Exchange (PDE), which is the first and only diamond bourse in all of Latin America, the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center will be the first dedicated facility for the diamond, jewelry and colored stone trades in the region that includes South and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. The guest of honor at the launch will be President Ricardo Martinelli, Panama's head of state, and industry leaders that have thus far confirmed their participation are Eli Izhakoff, the honorary president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the World Diamond Council; Ernest Blom, the president of the World Federation of the Diamond Bourses; Gaetano Cavalieri, the president of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation; Avi Paz, the president of the World Diamond Council; Shmuel Schnitzer, the president of the Israel Diamond Exchange; Reuven Kaufman, the president of the Diamond Dealers Club of New York; Moti Ganz, the chairman of the Israel Diamond Institute and Ronnie VanderLinden, the president of the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of the United States. Construction has already begun on the first stage of the more than $200 million project, which involves a structure that will house the trading floor and offices of the diamond bourse, as well as extensive office space for companies. It is scheduled for completion and occupation by the fourth quarter of this year. The second phase of the project will include the development of a high-rise tower, where the lower floors will include the offices and trading floor of PDE and a jewelry mall, and the upper floors will include offices of diamond, jewelry, colored gemstone, pearl and precious metals companies, as well as service providers. Designed by Ignacio Mallol, one of Latin America's most celebrated architects, the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center is being developed by Grupo Verde Azul and Grupo Los Pueblos, two of the region's leading property development and management companies. The Panama Gem & Jewelry Center has received the strong support of the Panamanian government and Parliament, which recently passed legislation that recognizes the area of the PDE facility to be a Free Zone, where residents do not incur customs duties on goods traded within the center and they are exempt from paying corporate taxes. The Panama Diamond Exchange (PDE) is the first and only diamond bourse in the entire region of Latin America, including South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. It will anchor the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center, which is now under construction and is designed to serve as the primary Latin American trading center and international gateway to and from one of the world jewelry industry's most exciting growth markets.
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