DUSHANBE, July 7, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- A new project in the field of the Textile and Clothing Industry with a 1.8 million U.S. dollars budget has been officially launched in a ceremony in Dushanbe today.

The official opening ceremony of Phase III (2009-2012) of the Trade Promotion Program in Tajikistan and closing Phase II (2006-2008) has been held in the conference hall of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Tajikistan.

According to the National Program Manager Saidmumin Kamolov, the new Technical Assistance project in the Textile and Clothing (T&C) industry will be financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and will be implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade as well as with the Ministry of Energy & Industry. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the sustainable expansion and diversification of SMEs’ exports in Tajikistan through increasing the competitiveness of the textile and clothing industry and improving the quality management infrastructure of the country.

The Textile and Clothing sector was selected for Phase III because of its significant potential to grow and to make a contribution to the country’s export diversification and the sector opportunities in terms of employment generation, particularly for women. The project will also contribute to the Government’s efforts in building a vertically integrated industry, increasing the amount of cotton processed to fabric in the country.

The project will focus on supporting the T&C stakeholders in taking a strategic approach to the sector’s development; improving the capacities of T&C enterprises and sector-related service providers in product development and marketing; and improving the capacity of SPS and TBT bodies and the regulatory infrastructure.

It should be noted that the implementation of Phase II of the project (2006-2008) with a focus on the fruit and vegetable processing sector was successful. The project overall results and outputs were graded as outstanding in the final external evaluation. Obtaining ISO 22000 certificates by two Tajik pilot fruit and vegetable processing enterprises, attending international trade fairs by Tajik enterprises, preparing Tojikstandart (Tajik agency for standardization, certification, metrology and trade inspection) laboratories for international accreditation, preparing Export Directory of Tajikistan and launching its website are good examples of the project success.

The International Trade Center (ITC) is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC enables small business export success in developing countries by providing, with partners, sustainable and inclusive trade development solutions to the private sector, trade support institutions and policymakers.