DUSHANBE, January 24, Asia-Plus - Culture Minister Mirzoshorukh Asrorov told journalists in Dushanbe on January 23 that it is necessary to improve printing trades in the country. 

According to him, printing enterprises operating in the country have not been modernized over the past 10-15 years and their equipment have become obsolete.   “At present we are projecting a national program to support improvement of printing trades in the republic,” the minister said.  

Asrorov noted that the country’s printing enterprises last year published a total of more than 3.379 million somonis’ worth of output, which is 2.5 times more than in 2005.   “Thus, printing houses Adib, Irfon, Maorif va Madaniyat and Matbuot published 223 books with a total circulation of 1,332,556 copies,” the minister said.   

On the work of libraries in the country, Asrorov noted that the first electronic reading-room was opened at the National Firdavsi Public Library in Dushanbe last year.  “This reading-room has some 3,000 electronic publications,” the minister noted.  

He added that Tajikistan’s professional theatres staged 23 new performances last year.  

Concerning the ministry’s plan projected for 2007, Asrorov said that the Ministry of Culture (MoC) plans to have held events dedicated to the 10 ^th anniversary of signing of the General Peace Agreement and 1,150 ^th anniversary of founder of the Tajik-Persian literature Abuabdullo Rudaki this year.