ASTANA – EXPO pavilion, a special trade and exhibition centre exclusively featuring goods made by Kazakh producers, has opened in the capital.
The main goal of the project is to help Kazakh merchandise to be exported, said Eurasian Business Union representative in Kazakhstan Mariya Anarbayeva. About 20 Kazakh brands are currently represented, although organisers plan to increase the number to at least 100.
“We are planning to conduct a selection through this site, because bringing our manufacturers for export is not so simple. We need to attract large distributors and offer our products in other countries, so we must be sure of the quality of the products that we offer. Also, there must be an acceptable export format; that is, a good product also needs attractive packaging in order to be noticed,” she said.
Despite its name, the pavilion will remain after the exhibition has closed.
“We are opening this pavilion not only on the eve of EXPO. When the EXPO is over, we will not stop eating, just as well as other countries. At the same time, we understand that the exhibition is a very important image event in the country, so certain products will be exhibited under the brand name EXPO 2017, but this is not the main goal of the project. This is only the first stage of our development, so that at the upcoming exhibition we can show how rich Kazakhstan is to guests,” said Anarbayeva.
Halyk Markasy (Nation’s Mark) Federation President Rimma Tazhibayeva talked about the event planned for the centre during the Nauryz celebration.
“During Nauryz, we will open a gastronomic festival of national dishes of the nationalities of Kazakhstan. Within the festival, for the first time we will present Nauryz-kozhe (traditional cold soup), which will be prepared from 16 ingredients from 16 regions of Kazakhstan,” she added.
Tazhibayeva also promised that in the remaining 100 days before the EXPO, the pavilion will present new Kazakh brands every day. During the exhibition, tourists will be able to visit trade and exhibition events.
“This pavilion has two functions – first, we are collecting export-oriented products, and secondly, it is on the tourist map of EXPO. Soon, guests of the international exhibition will visit our unique pavilion where all the best things from our country are presented. The third uniqueness is that we will also have the products of the Eurasian Business Union from 30 countries of the world, which is very popular abroad and export-oriented. Thanks to these goods, our Kazakhstan commodity producers will be able to focus on their packaging and quality. In order for export to develop in our country, we must meet all these criteria. For this purpose, an exhibition of the Eurasian Business Union was created, so that our producers would be guided by entrepreneurs from neighbouring countries,” she added.
