Recipient of $20,000 diamond from Indian PM revealed
US First Lady Jill Biden received a diamond worth $20,000 as a gift from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to an annual accounting release made by the State Department on Thursday and reported by the Associated Press.
US federal law requires executive branch officials to disclose gifts valued over $480 received from foreign leaders and counterparts.
The report indicated that the 7.5-carat diamond was by far the most expensive gift given to any member of the first family in 2023, although Jill Biden also received a brooch worth $14,063 from the Ukrainian ambassador to the US.
Modi hails from Gujarat, a region in western India known for its flourishing diamond industry. Modi was the state’s chief minister from 2001 to 2014, before becoming prime minister.
Surat, a city in Gujarat, is recognized as the world’s leading diamond processing center, where approximately 90% of global diamonds are cut and polished. However, the industry, which employs over a million people, has faced challenges over the past three years due to sanctions imposed by the West on Russia.
Since January of last year, the EU and G7 have banned direct imports of Russian diamonds, following phased restrictions on indirect imports via third countries. In line with G7 policy, the US, a major diamond export market for India, announced in February 2024 that it would ban Russian diamonds weighing one carat or more, with plans to extend the ban to stones weighing half a carat or more. However, Washington later stated it was “re-evaluating the strictest elements of the ban” after objections from African nations, Indian gem polishers, and New York jewelers, as reported by Reuters.
India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar remarked in April that New Delhi had expressed its concerns about the ban on Russian diamonds to its partners in Brussels.
“Our effort is to delay this ban, soften it, and ideally prevent it altogether. For us, this has become a priority issue, and we will seek a solution in the coming days,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying by the Economic Times.
As reported by RT last year, Western sanctions on Russian diamonds posed an additional setback for an industry already facing pressures from declining demand in the US and European markets.
“We are concerned about Russian rough diamonds, but our bigger concern is sluggish demand in the markets in the US and Europe. Our government is making efforts through minister-to-minister talks,” said Vipul Patel, chairman of the Gems & Jewelry Export Promotion Council, the body established to facilitate India’s exports of precious stones and jewelry.
