Azad invites envoys to Kashmir handicraft expo

Kashmir’s famed handicrafts were on display when envoys of several countries visited the Kashmir handicraft expo in the capital at the invitation of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Exquisite carpets, beautiful shawls and several other items are on display at the expo at Connaught Place here and the exhibition will be on till the end of February.

Azad went around with various envoys — including those from Egypt, Kuwait and Jordan — who admired the handicrafts and carpets on display.

Later, talking to reporters, Azad said his government was trying its best to take exports of handicrafts to Rs 1,000 crore during this fiscal, Rs 300 crore more than the figure for the last financial year.

He said the handicraft industry too was a victim of militancy along with tourism, and many Kashmiris earned a livelihood by exporting these items to European markets.

“We are trying to eye the Middle East and CIS markets and that was the purpose of calling these envoys and showing them the exquisite work of Kashmir,” Azad said.

Some of the envoys were left spellbound by the intricate work on shawls and wood carvings of walnut wood.

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