Permanent Carpet Exhibition Opens in Iran

Tabriz, Iran, January 25, 2007--The head of the Commerce Department of East Azarbaijan province, Sadeq Najafi, said Thursday that a permanent carpet exhibition and art forum has opened in the capital of this northwestern province. Talking to IRNA, he said carpet exports in the past year earned for the country USD 600 million, out of which exports of carpets made in Tabriz accounted for USD 200 million. Najafi said that the carpet exhibition was organized by the Rural Hand-Woven Carpets Union, adding that Rls 1.5 billion of non-refundable aid will be provided to the union by the Commerce Department of the province. The official said that the main objective behind the permanent carpet exhibition is to promote the carpet industry, including exports of carpets, as well as provide a venue for holding various conferences and carpet competitions. "We are trying to make Tabriz the world's carpet capital and this is just one of our initial measures to achieve this objective," he added. Najafi said that Tabriz's art forum was established by the East Azarbaijan Carpet Weavers Union and that the agreement establishing a permanent carpet exhibition in the provincial city of Maragheh was reached as part of efforts of the province's Commerce Department to promote its carpet industry. "Establishment of permanent carpet exhibitions in the provincial cities of Marand and Banab have also been agreed upon but the needed credits to finance the projects have not been ascertained," he added. There are more than 400,000 carpet weavers across East Azarbaijan province.