ABAD trade & exhibition centers to appear in Baku’s hotels
By Amina Nazarli
Travelers always want to bring home something that will remind them of their trip, something to show for where they have been, something they can use to look back and reminisce about the fantastic experience they had during their holiday.
Tourists visiting Azerbaijan, also referred as the Land of Fire, also want to take home something that will remind them of unforgettable moments, as well as culture and traditions of this country, locating on the crossroads of East and West.
The search for such things can lead you to recently created centers “ABAD”, where tourists can purchase handmade products from various regions of Azerbaijan, as well as honey, jam and other sweets of the Land of Fire.
Established upon the presidential decree dated to 2016, ABAD centers are aimed to support the family business operating in the field of folk arts, crafts and agriculture.
The goal of creating a public legal entity ABAD is to implement socially-oriented projects to support the active participation of citizens in the country's socio-economic development, further develop small and medium-sized businesses, increase employment and form competitive households.
Currently, three trade and exhibition centers ABAD are operating
in the country, said Rufat Elchiyev, the director of the legal
entity of public law ABAD.
“One of the centers is created in the Office of the Icherisheher
State Historical and Architectural Reserve, which offers tourists
quite a lot of goods, and the other one is in the “Duty Free” zone
in the Heydar Aliyev International Airport,” he said.
Elchiyev added that starting today the ABAD center will begin to
operate at the Railway Station of Baku.
Such centers will soon operate in five-star hotels of Baku, according to the ABAD director.
The pilot project started with 63 families in Baku, Masalli, Balakan, Ismayilli and Sheki regions of Azerbaijan. The project is planned to be expanded to other regions of the country in the future.
All products are marked with the logo of a master or family farm that produced this product. ABAD label on the products also proves the originality of the product.
ABAD cooperates with a number of international organizations, including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). In the framework of cooperation, in order to encourage the involvement of families in business, UNDP provided financial assistance in providing one family with a meat container equipped with all necessary equipment.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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