TEHRAN – Management and Planning Organization’s head Mohammad Baqer Nobakht and South Khorasan province’s governor general Mohammad Sadeq Motamedian signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday, aiming to create 3,000 jobs for craftspeople in the province by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2021). 

A total budget of 250 billion rials (around $6 million) is considered to be allocated for creating job opportunities as well as promoting the position of handicrafts in the province, CHTN reported. 

Giving loans to the craftspeople and helping them to reach global markets and exporting their products are also covered in this memorandum. 

Iran exported $427 million worth of handicrafts during the first eleven months of the past calendar year 1398 (ended March 19). Of the figure, some $190 million was earned via suitcase trade (allowed for customs-free and tax-free transfer) through 20 provinces, according to deputy tourism minister Pouya Mahmoudian. 

“Some 295 fields of handicrafts are currently practiced across Iran with more than two million people engaging, majority of whom are women… Handicrafts also play an important role in the economy in our rural villages,” she said.

ABU/MG