The Tenth International Craft and Fashion Festival titled “Diyori Husn” (Land of Beauty) is officially opening at the Navrouzgoh State Complex in Dushanbe today afternoon.

More than forty craftsmen from Central Asia’s nations have arrived in Dushanbe to participate in the festival that will run through November 27.

Representatives of Iran and Afghanistan are also participating in the festival.

Fashion designers and craftspeople from the Central Asia countries as well as Afghanistan and Iran will conduct master-classes on the sidelines of the festival.

Besides, the fair of products of craftsmen is being held on the sidelines of the festival.  Craftsmen from all regions of Tajikistan, who have been awarded a special prize of UNESCO for their works, have also been invited to put their works on display at the fair.

The festival participants will have an opportunity to meet with representatives of the Tajik government and to discuss problems facing them at a conference titled “The Ways of Development of Craftsmanship,” an official source at the International Association of Craftspeople of Tajikistan “Haft Paikar” told Asia-Plus in an interview.

The festival is held at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture of Tajikistan, the Dushanbe Administration, the Committee for Family and Women’s Affairs under the Government of Tajikistan and the International Association of Craftspeople of Tajikistan “Haft Paikar.”

The First “Diyori Husn” Festival was held in Dushanbe from November 16-18, 2004.  The festival was held under patronage of Dushanbe Mayor Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev and timed to coincide with celebration of the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Tajik capital city. A demonstration of fashions was carried out on the sidelines of the festival.  Craftsmen and young fashion designers from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and China participated in that three-day festival.