Lalitpur Metropolitan City will be joining the club of Craft City under the World Crafts Council (WCC) this August, the Federation of Handicraft Association Nepal (FHAN) said on Thursday.

The Association said the announcement will be made at the 37th annual general assembly and international conference of the WCC, which is scheduled to be held in Kathmandu from August 30 to September 1.

The Craft City is a worldwide network of creative ‘craft cities’ launched by the WCC. These craft cities are built around a framework that works with local authorities, craftspeople and communities to achieve cultural, economic and social development goals. Currently there are 19 such cities in the Asia Pacific region alone.

The conference aims to promote the handicraft and tourism market in Nepal, and enhance the capabilities of Nepali artists, said a FHAN’s spokesperson. According to the organisers, around 100 representatives—from 45 different countries such as India, China, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Australia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand—will be participating in the conference. The five-day exhibition is expected to receive 100,000 participants, and will have around 200 stalls and handicraft associations from 25 districts participating at the fair. Tickets to the fair have been fixed at Rs50; students will get a 50 percent discount.

Nepal is a regular exporter of handicraft products, exporting almost 50 different types of handicraft items, which amount to around Rs7 billion annually. And countries like Germany, France, the UK, the Netherland, Japan, China and India are key importers of Nepal’s handicraft market. Dharma Raj Shakya, the vice chairman of FHAN (which has been associated with WCC since 1990), said that the association has been organising different national and international programmes to expand the presence of Nepali handicrafts in the existing global market and tap into newer markets.

Later in the year, FHAN will also be organising the 16th Handicraft and Trade Fair and the 14th Handicraft Competition (from November 14 to 18) with the support from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and Trade Export Promotion Centre, in Bhrikutimandap.

The event is being supported by the Tourism Ministry, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Metropolitan City and Lalitpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry.