Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan on October 16 received gemologists from
23 countries who have attended the 33rd International Gemological
Conference (IGC 33) in Hanoi.
Doan was briefed
on the outcomes of IGC 33, which, as Secretary General for IGC’s
Executive Committee Jayshree Panjikar said, will open up more
cooperation opportunities for Vietnamese and international scientists.
She thanked the scientists for cooperation in
organising the conference, which enabled Vietnamese experts to share
experience with foreign partners in gemology.
The
leader deemed scientific reports at IGC 33 as a valuable and useful
source of information, particularly gemstone assessment measures and
exploitation management.
She also considered the
conference a chance to popularise Vietnam as a country rich of
natural resources, including gemstones, and help its gemstone industry
to integrate into the region and the world.
At IGC
33 from October 13 – 16, participants mulled over 63 reports concerning
the differentiation between natural and man-made gemstones, measures to
assess and upgrade gemstone quality.
The event was
jointly organised by the Vietnam National University in Hanoi
and Doji, the only Vietnamese member of the International Coloured
Gemstone Association.
Vietnam has reportedly
discovered 73 mines and 160 sites containing precious and decorative
stones and industrial minerals. Up to 50 mines and 31 sites of which
contain ruby and sapphire.-VNA