Azerbaijan , Baku , Oct.15/ Trend F.Milad/
Iran has allocated $500 million from the National Development Fund to the handicraft industry, the IRNA reported.
The Technical and Vocational Training Organization and the Iranian National Handicrafts Association also signed the agreement on Monday.
Based on the agreement, Iran Technical and Vocational Training Organization will hold educational courses for 100,000 applicants.
The deputy head of Iranian Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization Mohammad-Hasan Salehimaram said in August that Iran will pay $1.5 billion in loans to support exporters of handicrafts.
Salehimaram added that the loans will be paid with 6 percent interest, according to IRIB news.
Iran has announced that exports of handicrafts during the first quarter of the current Iranian year, which began on March 20, rose by 276 percent compared to the same period in the past year.
Salehimaram said that the growth in exports of handicrafts is projected to hit 300 percent by the end of the year, the Mehr News Agency reported.
He added that some $500 million worth of handicrafts were exported in the past year.
"The value of exports is anticipated to reach $1.5 billion in the current year," he noted.