DUSHANBE, July 11, 2014, Asia-Plus -- Within the framework of the EU-funded project “Handicraft and Business through Regional Integration and Fair Trade Market”, the Public Association “Bishkek Business Club” (BBC) will organize the International Conference “Regional Cooperation as a Key Instrument for Promoting Central Asian Handicraft into International Sales Markets,” the Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan reports.  

The full-day Conference that will take place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on July 24 is expected to gather Central Asian artisans, government officials and European experts in order to identify strategies for promoting better access to foreign markets.

Handicraft sector represents a great opportunity for Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asia countries to expand their export potentials.  The International Conference will therefore address two of the main challenges lying ahead for Central Asian artisans: firstly, the development of ways and techniques to better access foreign markets.  Secondly, the need for a more effective cooperation in Central Asia in order to have more capacity to compete with international artisans from all around the world.  Special attention will be given to the European Union and in particular to Fair Trade, which represents a privileged trading channel and an interesting opportunity for entering European markets.

The Bishkek Business Club (BBC) is a public organization established in 2002, which brings together business leaders in order to radically improve the business environment and facilitate the establishment of the Kyrgyz Republic as a vibrant and the largest business centre of the Central Asian region.

Today the BBC is one of the most proactive business associations, which successfully reflects the views of business leaders at all levels of power and influences economic policy in Kyrgyzstan.

Together with the Italian Ngo Cesvi, the BBC is implementing in Kyrgyzstan the 2-year project “Handicraft and Business through Regional Integration and Fair Trade Market.”  The project, funded under the third edition of the EU Central Asia Invest Program, will reinforce the cooperation between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, contributing to the development of their private sector, with a specific focus on the handicraft sector.