Success Stories
Regional Trade with Afghanistan

Handicraft Maker Forges Afghan Partnership

EDP sent three Tajik SMEs to a trade fair in Kabul. During the event, one of the Tajik participants began a partnership to trade in materials for making handicrafts.

The Rebuild Afghanistan Trade Fair was held in Afghanistan on 9-12 November 2005. Companies from more than 30 countries exhibited their products, and more than 10,000 visitors attended the event. EDP led a delegation from Central Asia that included three Tajik SMEs and the Tajik Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Due to its efforts in organizing the Central Asian delegation, EDP was named the exhibition’s best supporting partner.

Several new ventures and partnerships are expected to come out of the exhibition over the coming months, and one of the Tajik participants began a partnership during the event itself. The handicraft producer, Rukhom, saw many opportunities to trade in both materials and finished products. The company’s Director, Mufarrakh Muhabatov, signed an initial deal with the Association of Handicraft Producers of Afghanistan and purchased $12,300 in handicrafts, which are displayed at his new store in Dushanbe, which is specifically for Afghan handicrafts. The new store, Silk Road, is located next to his store for local Tajik handicrafts and precious stones. Mr. Muhabatov recently made a second visit to Kabul to arrange for a much larger shipment of goods for his store. He has signed long-term contracts with the Association of Handicraft Producers of Afghanistan and the Baig Brothers Handicraft Company.

Rukhom also agreed to supply the Afghan association and Baig Brothers with precious and semi-precious stones, including lapis lazuli (lazurite) and onyx from the Badakshan region of Tajikistan (Pamirs). The Afghan partners will make these precious stones into jewelry and other handicrafts. The association will then send the finished goods to Rukhom for sale in Tajikistan. As the first partnership resulting from the exhibition in Kabul, this deal represents the potential for increased trade and growing economic ties between Afghanistan and Central Asia.

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