The role and contribution of the International Trade Center (ITC) to the textile, clothing and handicraft sectors of Tajikistan, as well as the ITC assistance in implementation of the country’s WTO commitments were at the high-level Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting in Dushanbe Friday afternoon.
According to ITC Tajikistan, the PSC consists of representatives from Tajikistan’s relevant ministries, agencies, private sector, academia, the donor (Government of Switzerland), and the ITC. The Committee was reportedly established to support the project activities, as well as to ensure transparency in implementation and that the projects’ outputs respond to the country’s priorities.
Currently, ITC implements two projects in Tajikistan, funded by the Government of Switzerland within its Trade Cooperation Program (TCP) in Tajikistan.
One of the projects is focused on strengthening the export competitiveness of the Tajik textile, clothing, and handicraft sectors.
Mr. Saidrahmon Nazrizoda, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, highlights ITC’s input in the development of the textile and clothing sector: “I would like to note the importance of the sector for our economy. Tajikistan is a cotton producing country and we are attempting to ensure full processing of cotton within the country to produce final products. As part of its project goals, ITC also addresses one of Tajikistan’s key challenges – the gender issue and job creation for women. This could also be considered as one of the project’s achievements. I’d like to thank ITC and SECO for the assistance they provide and we hope that this fruitful cooperation will continue in the future.”
Mr. Armen Zargaryan, ITC’s Program Coordinator for the Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, emphasizes the project contribution towards development of the textile and clothing sector of Tajikistan during last three years: “We have assisted the local stakeholders in development of the ‘’Textile and Clothing Industry Development Strategy of Tajikistan for 2016-2025’’, enabled local trade support institutions in improving their services, assisted universities in updating their curriculum, strengthened the cooperation between Tajik and foreign educational institutions, and conducted different studies in priority areas. Our support has allowed the Tajik textile, clothing, and handicraft companies to enter new foreign markets and become more competitive in the regional markets through enhancing their knowledge in different areas, including product design and development, quality management and productivity, marketing, etc.”
RBT Resandai Tojikiston is the newest yarn producer in Tajikistan established last year. Earlier this year the company joined project organized trip to the International Yarn fair in Istanbul, and already in three months the company independently initiated participation at another fair in Istanbul with little support from ITC. Director Bahrom Mamadjonov says: “With ITC’s assistance we were able to participate in the Istanbul Yarn Fair last February, where we signed profitable contracts and returned with a lot of useful experience. That was the first push, an opportunity to discover the importance of international trade fairs and we are thankful to ITC for their assistance in participation in our second fair too. ITC also supports us in many other ways, such as provision of consultative services, trainings on marketing, branding, and quality management, establishment of new business contacts and etc.”
Under its second project, ITC continues providing assistance to Tajikistan’s post-WTO accession process, implementation of the country’s commitments, and strengthening the knowledge of public and private sectors on the WTO rules and agreements.
