The five-day Cambodia Gems & Jewelry Fair (CGJF) will kick off on June 14 at the Diamond Island (Koh Pich) Exhibition Centre and will be hosted by the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce in association with Hong Kong’s World Trade Fair Ltd.

Only the fourth such event, the CGJF has attracted companies from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Laos, UK, Thailand and Cambodia who will man a total of 86 booths.

Intertek, a London-based company that offers analytical services for minerals, established a laboratory in Cambodia last year in an effort to help regulate the gem trade.

The official opening for the laboratory was held yesterday.

Intertek director for Cambodia Khut Sothy said that the country has been lacking in proper quality-assurance methods and resources.

Cambodia enjoys a duty-free status on export of gems to the United States.

That status will attract and encourage Thai traders to invest in the Kingdom, said Cham Prasidh, the Cambodian Minister of Commerce during the launch of Intertek’s laboratory.

To contact the reporter on this story: May Kunmakara at [email protected]