Oriented on making people closer

The Day of Consulting in the field of export promotion was held in the Archabil hotel on Wednesday, July 12. As the part of this business event, organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Trade Central Asia Activity, with the participation of the EBRD, a ceremony was held to launch a project in cooperation with the ORIENT Informational Portal in order to provide information support for domestic exporters.

The participants of the meeting were entrepreneurs from different regions of the country - manufacturers interested in entering foreign markets, managers of 30 companies, as well as consultants, employees of government departments and international organizations.

In her greeting, the USAID representative in Turkmenistan, Ms. Nino Nadiradze, noted that the Export Promotion Consulting Day is an initiative of the Agency's Activity and similar events have already been successfully held in other countries of Central Asia.

Ms. Nadiradze recalled that last Friday, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan and USAID signed a memorandum of understanding, which is aimed at expanding the export of goods and services of the private sector, improving the investment climate in the country, increasing the economic opportunities of women and youth, promoting digital technologies, e-commerce and innovation in the business sector of Turkmenistan.

Nino Nadiradze thanked the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations for their interest in participating in the current event, one of the objectives of which is to demonstrate how advisory services help producers improve their exports. The USAID representative also noted the importance of the media partnership initiative in this area, which will be launched at the meeting.

Rustam Bekmuradov, Country Director of the USAID Trade in Central Asia Activity, announced the launch of an information campaign to promote exports. The presentation of this project was made by the director of the information agency "MEDIA-TURKMEN", the editor-in-chief of the website ORIENT Bekdurdy Amansaryev.

First, he briefly explained the project and how it will be implemented.

In connection with the change in the geo-economic picture of the world and the architecture of international security, there is a need to revise the traditional means of the movement of goods and services, to search for new markets and foreign partners.

Nowadays, first of all, exporters of goods experience difficulties, especially those companies that are planning to enter foreign markets.

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, continuing the policy of his father and mentor, the leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, pays great attention to the development of the private sector of the national economy. This process is also facilitated by the interaction of domestic companies with international organizations, where USAID Trade in Central Asia Activity takes a special credit, the speaker emphasized.

–This is what our joint project is aimed at. It, as we predict, will help increase the competitiveness of domestic exporting companies, increase the volume and range of goods, improve the investment climate, promote e-commerce, introduce IT technologies and innovations to the private sector,” Amansaryev said.

It is expected that the implementation of the project will also involve the service sector, on which the export of goods directly depends. Namely, certification of products manufactured by Turkmen enterprises for compliance with international standards, marketing, transport and logistics and other services.

This will also strengthen the opportunities and partially disclosed potential of the country's small business, which is relevant to the ongoing process of Turkmenistan's accession to the World Trade Organization.

This partnership media campaign, unlike the previous one, implemented within six months in cooperation between the ORIENT website and the USAID Entrepreneurship and Business Environment Development Project, is designed for a whole year with the involvement of international consultants, specialists, representatives of trade missions, etc.

-Within the framework of the project, - continued the director of the information agency "MEDIA-TURKMEN", - it is planned to create a special section on the website of ORIENT, where news information, reports from the sites where employees of exporting companies work, interviews with heads of enterprises that have achieved considerable success in the supply of goods to the foreign market, economic reviews and analytical materials, articles about leaders and their success stories, about the difficulties that arise in the way of novice exporters and methods for overcoming them will be published.

-An important place will be given to the issues of bringing the products to a high level of international standards and the search for reliable and qualified partners abroad, - Bekdurdy Amansariyev emphasized.

-In addition to textual content, photo and video materials will be actively involved: photo reports and videos from the scene, thematic and commercials aimed at promoting the image of exporting companies and their products. All these materials, being published in Turkmen, English and Russian, in the future could be used to create a rich database of Turkmen exporters, as well as to establish a specialized structure that unites domestic exporters.

During the Consulting Day, the leading manager of the EBRD Small Business Consulting Program in Turkmenistan Natalya Akmuradova, board member of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs responsible for trade and export promotion Shamammed Annaev, heads and representatives of Turkmen small businesses also gave their speeches.

Then, consultations were held for beginner and existing exporters in sections that covered topics such as marketing and sales systems, packaging and branding, certification, and export promotion.

In general, the event, on the opinion of its participants, has become a significant contribution to improving the business climate and creating favorable conditions for expanding the potential of small businesses in Turkmenistan.

Photo: Orient.tm