TEHRAN – Persian handicrafts, made by natives of the southern Fars province, will become available to football fans during the upcoming FIFA World Cup in neighboring Qatar, CHTN reported on Tuesday. 

Qatar World Cup is a great opportunity for introducing and marketing the handicrafts of Fars province, said the provincial tourism chief Seyyed Moayyed Mohsen-Nejad. 

For the province’s handicrafts to have a strong presence at the World Cup, it needs to plan and take action in the remaining time until the event, the official added. 

Craft marketing encourages good production and helps move the economic cycle forward, he explained. 

Bringing handicrafts back into people’s lives will pave the way for their revival, he noted. 

Earlier this month, the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Minister Ezzatollah Zarghami and Qatar’s Minister of Culture and Sports Abdulrahman bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani met in Tehran, exchanging views on how to facilitate tourism during World Cup. 

The two countries discussed ways to further deepen tourism, cultural heritage, and handicraft ties by taking advantage of the World Cup opportunity in Qatar. 

Zarghami suggested setting up a committee to plan and coordinate ideas and to make the most of the World Cup’s capacity.

Zarghami also said that there are nearly 300 Iranian handicrafts fields and many of the items are culturally quite close to Qatar, and classes can be held to bring the Iranian artists’ experience to Qatari artists.

Back in April, Iranian media reported that the government mulled over a visa simplification procedure at the suggestion of its Foreign Ministry to draw spectators from the neighboring Qatar which plays host to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in November and December.

The Iranian government plans to grant a free visa to citizens whose national football teams qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for a one-time or a two-time period with a validity period of two months and a 30-day stay.

The minister said many people are interested to visit Iran for its historical attractions and ecotourism to name a few.

ABU/AFM