To Develop The Garment Industry,Kyrgyzstan Need to Expand Business Contacts with Others

In order to develop the garment industry of Kyrgyzstan, apparel enterprises operating in the sector need to expand business contacts with international firms and need to increase competitiveness amongst them, for competing in global markets, said coordinator of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Eurasia Competitiveness Program Gregory Lecomte.

Mr. Lecomte was speaking at the presentations of recommendations in the agribusiness sector and the garment industry for the Eurasia Competitiveness Program by OECD, held recently in the capital city of Bishkek, reports Kyrgyz newspaper Kabar.

The OECD official said that in order to achieve the set goals of the Kyrgyz garment industry, clothing enterprises operating in the sector need to improve their basic fundamental directions and ensure competitiveness, and the OECD recommendations suggest Kyrgyz apparel firms to find right markets and aim at expanding production with the use of right resources and knowledge.

Mr. Lecomte said the OECD would help the firms by sharing information regarding newer markets which the Kyrgyz apparel manufacturers are not aware of, in order to help them increase production, especially of value-added goods, for competing in the global market.

Globally, the garment industry is developing very fast, and Kyrgyz apparel manufacturers need to work on improving competitiveness, skills, investment on new technology and infrastructure, to find a foothold in the global market, he added.

At the presentation, Antonio Somma, head of the OECD Eurasia Competitiveness Program, said with regard to the implementation of the recommendations for competitiveness in Kyrgyzstan, the OECD would be extending its support in two sectors—agriculture and garment industry.

The Eurasia Competitiveness Program was launched in 2008 by OECD to support Eurasian economies in developing more vibrant and competitive markets. The program uses OECD instruments and tools in order to assess where and how to enhance competitiveness of countries, sectors and regions to generate sustainable growth. 

It includes two regions: Central Asia (Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and Eastern Europe and South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine).