TEHRAN – The deputy of handicrafts at West Azarbaijan’s tourism directorate announced that handicraft exports from the province have reached $10 million during the current year's nine months.

“These handicrafts cover various fields and have been exported to countries such as Turkey, Iraq, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Persian Gulf and neighboring countries,” Mohammad Tanabi stated in an interview with IRNA on Friday.

According to IRNA, there are 40 fields of handicrafts currently being practiced in the province, including traditional weaving, embroidery, ceramics, leatherwork, woodcraft arts, glasswork, marquetry, as well as weaving, kilims, carpets and jajims.

At present, a total of 13 cities and three villages in Iran have been registered by the World Council of Handicrafts as “world cities of handicrafts”. The World Crafts Council is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that was founded in 1964 to promote fellowship, foster economic development through income-generating craft-related activities, and organize exchange programs, workshops, conferences, and exhibitions.

AFM