DUSHANBE, May 13, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Thirteen firms from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will gather in Dushanbe to present a general review of the situation in Afghanistan’s market, determine its strong and weak points as well as discuss strategies of entering Afghan market, according to the National Association of Small and Medium Business of the Republic of Tajikistan (NASMB).

The source says the event on creation of partnership on exporting goods to Afghanistan will take place in Dushanbe on May 16 in framework of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Regional Trade Liberalization and Customs (RTLC) Project.

The event participants are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding and cooperation with expounding their contribution to partnership and work out a plan of actions for expansion of their export operations in Afghanistan.

The Export Partnership Initiative helps Central Asian companies identify synergies and share resources in order to grow their export businesses.

USAID''s RTLC has launched a rigorous six-month project "Export Partnership Initiative" for selected small and medium enterprises and business associations from Central Asia and Afghanistan. Through this project participants are receiving training on how to expand their operations and enter new export markets.  The Export Partnership Initiative will continue to serve businesses looking to grow their export operations through September 2011, with support for policy reforms, marketing drives, and facilitating cooperation among players in the private sector.