DUSHANBE, April 25, 2014, Asia-Plus – Tajik Embassy in Brussels says that a roundtable formally titled “Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan: Business and Investment Opportunities and Role of the European Union in Supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises” took place at the University of Vesalius in Brussels on April 24.
Organized by the Permanent Missions of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to the European Union under support of the Central Asia Invest Program (European Commission) and the International NGO Cesvi, the event reportedly brought together delegations from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, including experts in the fields of economy, trade and business, high-level representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European External Action Service, the World Customs Organization, the Energy Charter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium, business circles of the host country, including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Belgium, trade and commerce departments of Flanders and Wallonia.
Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Struan Stevenson was the moderator of the meeting and Tajikistan’s Permanent Representative to the European Union Rustamjon Soliyev, Kyrgyzstan’s Permanent Representative to the European Union Asein Isayev and Director of Central and Eastern Europe from the Belgian Foreign Ministry Günter Sleeuwagen delivered opening and welcoming remarks.
Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Tajikistan, Ms. Gulru Qayumova, made a presentation of economic potential and investment climate of Tajikistan and Executive Director of the National Association of Small and Medium-sized Businesses of Tajikistan (NASMBT), Ms. Nasibakhon Aminova, informed those present about measures taken by Tajikistan to ensure implementation of fair trade standards.
We will recall that within the framework of the EU-funded project “Handicraft and Business through Regional Integration and Fair Trade Market”, the International NGO Cesvi has organized a 10-day European Study Tour for a Central Asian delegation composed of Tajik and Kyrgyz stakeholders.
The Tour brought representatives from Tajik and Kyrgyz Economic Ministries and Business Intermediary Organizations to share their views and experiences and explore together, through the study of some European best practices, the potentials of the Central Asia handicraft as a strategic opportunity for job creation and economic growth.
On April 21-22, the group traveled to the Netherlands to visit the World Fair Trade Organization and on April 21-25, the group traveled to Belgium for a series of meetings with representatives from the European Parliament, the European External Action Service and the European Commission’s DG Enterprise
On April 26-29, the group will travel to Italy, where it will participate in the International Handicrafts Trade Fair of Florence and will meet local craftsmen and entrepreneurs.
The Central Asia Invest Program supports the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Central Asia’s countries. The program is also working, in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to establish a regional dialogue on competitiveness, as a necessary precondition for an improved business climate in the region.
Established in Italy in 1985, Cesvi has worked in Tajikistan since 2001. In Tajikistan, Cesvi implements humanitarian and development projects encompassing sectors such as environment protection, rural development, disaster risk reduction and income generating activities. The 2-year project “Handicraft and Business through Regional Integration and Fair Trade Market”, started in January 2014, is funded under the European Union’s Central Asia Invest Program, that promotes the development of the private sector, especially of small and medium-sized enterprises, in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
