Macedonia has a great potential for development of handicraft, but artisans show no interest for the subsidies for supporting their projects offered by the state. It is necessary to work upon their education for the benefits of the state programs. With help from the state, as well as with the innovative projects the consequences of the economic crisis can be mitigated, their business can be developed and new jobs can be created.

These were a small part of the assessment presented at the conference "The potentials of guilds for economic development in the region", held today under the 13. International trade fair for crafts and small businesses in the Skopje’s fair.

With the current call of the Ministry of Economy for a financial support of the craft projects, the state allocates one million and 200 thousand denars. This amount was offered in the period from March to July this year, but only three craftsmen applied. According to the Economy Minister Valon Saracini this second call that lasts until November 1, is a great opportunity for artisans to deliver concrete and sustainable projects that will help in their development. - The fact is that we had the money, but there was no interest from the artisans to apply for such projects. Therefore, I suggested the Government to continue with the call until November 1. We make efforts to promote this subsides as much as possible. Five applications are submitted so far and it remains for us to see how many of them will have specific projects, said Minister Saracini.

He appeals to all craftsmen to apply for a support to the Ministry of Economy, so that making of an assessment would be possible. If we see that there is a really big interest, he said, now when we are still in a phase when we need to propose a budget to the Ministry of Finance, for the next year we will be able to propose to allocate more funds. - It is important to have an interest, to have specific products, to enhance the image and raise the awareness among the artisans that there is really someone who can help them in this direction, Mr. Saracini added.