DUSHANBE, April 11, 2014, Asia-Plus – The Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan notes that the Union of Craftsmen of Tajikistan conducted a roundtable entitled “Key Challenges faced by Tajikistan’s Handicraft Sector” at the Dushanbe Ismaili Center on April 8.
The roundtable was reportedly opened by the speeches of Gulru Qayumova, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan, Zulfia Davlatbekova, Program Manager of the European Union Delegation in Tajikistan, Abdurahmon Nazirmatov, Chairman of the Union of Craftsmen of Tajikistan, and Marco Alfieri, Project Manager of the Italian NGO Cesvi.
Objectives and activities of the project, Handicraft and Business through Regional Integration and Fair Trade Market, which is funded by the European Union under the Central Asia Invest Program, were presented and a number of topical issues for the Tajik handicraft sector were addressed.
Deputy Minister Qayumova introduced the main features of the State regulation of the artisan sector of the Republic of Tajikistan and noted that the handicraft industry is a very important sphere for Tajikistan, because its products represent our country abroad.
Sayora Abdulloyeva, Head of Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan, stressed the most relevant initiatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in favor of artisans: participation in international trade fairs and a new agreement with the Chamber of Commerce of China, which enables the access of domestic handicraft products to the Chinese market.
Artisans and heads of craft organizations presented the activities of their NGOs and the challenges they are facing: problematic acquisition of raw materials, high credits, incomplete legislation regulating the sphere of handicrafts, as well as problems with access to foreign markets.
Shahnoza Muhammadiyeva, a young entrepreneur from Khujand, presented a draft of her brand “That”s Tajik,” which will represent local artisan’s products abroad.
Upon completion of the event there was a debate by members of Dushanbe Debate Club on the subject “State Investment in Handicraft Industry is not Justified.”
The Union of Craftsmen of Tajikistan (UCT), promoter of the event, was established in 2012 as a public organization that brings together artisans and organizations to develop the craft sector on a voluntary basis. The Union contributes to the creation of conditions for economic and social development of the craft sector of the Republic of Tajikistan, providing advice, assistance and protection of the rights of artisans, lobbying for their interests, finding partners and disseminating the necessary information for the development of the craft sector.
