Ceremony of thanks for small business projectsGermans keep giving to Yemen [Archives:2003/694/Reportage]
By Yemen Times Staff
Taiz Bureau
The Chambers of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the German GTZ. in Yemen recently held a ceremony at Al-Saeed Establishment Hall for Science and Culture in Taiz.
It commemorated the completion of the Yemeni-German project for supporting small businesses in Taiz and Aden, which lasted for three years.
The ceremony was attended by Dr. Khalid Rajeh Shaikh, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Judge Ahmad Abdullah Al-Hajri, Governor of the Governorate of Taiz, and Geizela Traucan, the Commercial Attache' at German Embassy in Sana'a.
In his remarks, the Minister of Commerce and Industry expressed his happiness in attending the completion ceremony of the first phase of supporting small businesses in Taiz and Aden, and the inauguration of the second phase, which will be larger and more comprehensive.
He emphasized that his ministry is looking forward to more contributions from businessmen in expanding the activities of the project pointing to the fact that supporting small businesses leads to larger industrial installations. He indicated that industrial installations are not measure by their sizes, but by their level of production, effectiveness, and share in national production levels.
The minister emphasized the importance of small industrial installations, and other handicrafts in reducing unemployment by offering work opportunities for the labor force. He complimented the role of the private sector in reducing unemployment, and said that even a big group such as Hail Saeed Group cannot alone tackle unemployment in such a large city as Taiz.
Therefore, it is necessary that support be extended to small businesses so they may play a role in reducing unemployment, the minister said.
Shawqi Ahmad Hail, Vice Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Chairman of Finance, Planning and Development Committee of the Higher Council of the Governorate of Taiz, delivered a speech in which he reviewed the activities of the Yemeni – German project in supporting small businesses, and said that it represented a wonderful example of the unique Yemeni – German relations, and mutual efforts between the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Taiz and Aden, and the German GTZ.
In of the areas of supporting small businesses is the eradication of poverty, limiting its effects, and reducing unemployment, Hail pointed that the project was full of accomplishments as it offered 27 training sessions in the fields of planning, management, finance, sales, marketing, establishing and managing projects, and handling accounting ledgers.
More than 850 trainees attended these sessions. Also, eight workshops were organized covering the needs for small businesses in terms of training, and knowledge of labor and social security laws. These workshops were attended by 243 trainees.
In addition, the first conference of small industries was organized, and activities' supervisors were sent abroad for training. Dr. Helmut Gross, Chairman of the G T Z and Dr. Von Franz, chairman of the German work team, delivered their remarks in which they expressed gratitude to the Yemeni government, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Governorates of Taiz and Aden for their cooperation in making the project a success.
This project is considered an example of the cooperation between the two countries and their peoples in the field of small businesses assuring that the next project will include other partners in addition to GTZ, and that the German government has allocated U. S. $7.6 million for this project through cooperation with the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, Planning and Development.
They expressed hopes that the next project will start at the beginning of next year.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Governor of Taiz, and Ahmad Hail Saeed, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce joined by Geizela Traucan, the Commercial Attache' at the German Embassy in Sana'a, and distributed appreciation certificates to a number of trainees, and honoured the German officials.
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