A delegation of Tajik textile and clothing (T&C) companies is on an intense business tour to Turkey, one of the largest textile producers and exporters in the world with long history of textile manufacturing dating to ancient times.

The International Trade Center (ITC)’s Office in Tajikistan says entrepreneurs and business service providers from Tajikistan are participating in this initiative promoted by the ITC under the Global Textiles and Clothing Programme (GTEX).

The business study tour reportedly aims to encourage regional linkages and share best practices among companies from the T&C sector.  

The delegation consisting of managers and representatives of 12 T&C companies, two consulting firms as well as the Union of Private Sector Development and the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of Tajikistan is visiting Turkey from November 1 to November 6, 2021.

The study tour aims to present and familiarize Tajikistan’s T&C stakeholders to the textile value chain in Istanbul and Bursa regions.  Participants are expected to establish new business contacts and explore possibilities for sourcing materials and expand retail opportunities.  In addition, they will also learn about business-specific subjects in Turkey, such as taxes, import and export procedures, access to finance, and the government support of the T&C sector.  Besides the business exchange, this initiative aims to build linkages with sector associations for future collaboration.  

Moreover, as part of the tour, the Tajik delegation will also visit the Turkish leading textile and clothing companies to learn about the technology and manufacturing processes, as well as trade and retail centers.

It is also planned to establish contacts and build a network between Tajik and Turkish sectoral associations and unions, as well as business service providers working in the T&C industry.

Looking for the future, both countries’ T&C sector intend to use this opportunity to envision partnerships, such as potentially create joint ventures during series of B2B meetings planned to organize during the trip.

The program to Turkey has been made possible thanks to the close cooperation between ITC’s Global Textiles and Clothing Program (funded by the Government of Switzerland) and IRDP/TRIGGER II implemented by GIZ (jointly funded by the EU and the BMZ). The organization of this visit is maintained by ITC local partners - Tajik consulting companies “ACT Development Group” and “Business Consulting Group” with support of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Tajikistan, and a number of Turkish state agencies and sectoral union organizations.