The Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts, Yacine Hamadi, confirmed Thursday in Algiers, on the occasion of the 23rd edition of the International Salon for traditional industry, the importance of this event for artisans to market their products and introduce the authentic and diverse craft heritage that Algeria abounds with.
While supervising the launch of the 23rd edition of the International Handicrafts Salon, Mr. Hamadi highlighted “the importance of the return of this event again for craftsmen after a break of more than three years due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, in order to be able to market their products, highlighting the innovations achieved by craftsmen, and defining the tangible improvement in the quality of the product due to the good training approved by the sector.”
The minister mentioned that this salon, which lasts until next December 2, is known for the participation of about 200 craftsmen from the homeland and 56 other craftsmen representing 9 foreign and sister countries, namely Tunisia, Egypt, Western Sahara, South Africa, Pakistan, Mali, Mauritania, Palestine and Niger, adding that during this event, partnership and cooperation agreements will be concluded with these countries in order to exchange experiences and expertise.
On this occasion, Mr. Hamadi praised the quality of the national traditional industry, which makes the sector contribute to economic development and the preservation of crafts for future generations, noting that the number of craftsmen registered at the national level is “estimated at 400 thousand craftsmen who contributed – according to him – to the creation of more than one million and 140 thousand jobs and provision more than 400 billion DZD of the gross domestic product.
The minister also stressed the need to “make greater efforts to preserve the traditional industry from extinction and imitation, by providing all support to craftsmen by allocating spaces for them and involving them in national and international salons to sell and market their products, as well as their assistance through loans and the provision of raw materials.”
In the same context, he highlighted the importance of “the recent launch of the electronic platform in order to give artisans the opportunity to market and introduce their products”, stressing also “the need to improve the quality of traditional industry by including modern designs while preserving their originality”, as he insisted on the need to “improve and upgrade the level of training to achieve quality.
Through this salon, the most important traditional products will be introduced, including traditional clothing, artistic ceramics, pottery, wood industry, artistic leather, weaving, carpeting, and breeding, as well as the blacksmithing, copper, jewelry, and various traditional foods and natural cosmetics.
