A Saarc handicraft exhibition will begin in Dhaka on Sunday to bolster mutual harmony in the region through promoting traditional products and developing cultural institutions.
India, Pakistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka will take part at the fair apart from host Bangladesh, Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad told a press conference at Bangladesh Secretariat Thursday, announcing the event schedule.
The Sri Lanka-based Saarc Cultural Centre in collaboration with Bangladesh culture affairs ministry will organise the six-day show at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy premises.
Around 18 craftsmen from Bangladesh, eight from India, 10 from Pakistan, six from Sri Lanka and four from Bhutan will take part.
This year’s exhibition will be held under four sections Saarc exhibition on handicrafts, design workshop, buyer-seller meet on the fifth day and review meeting on Saarc map of cultural industries.
Craftsmen from all the Saarc member countries will display and sell their best products while a special design workshop is scheduled to be conducted by trained professionals, who would focus on increasing the marketability of products within and outside the region.
The objectives of the event are to identify, nourish and protect the fading traditional crafts with specific focus on handicrafts of the member states; to improve market facilities for the products of cultural industries; to look into various aspects of cultural industries such as the economic, legal, technological, and educational aspects of the products of cultural industries; and to execute and display the skills of the craftsmen of the Saarc region all in one location, according to the Saarc Cultural Centre.