REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Wednesday opened the 17th Jakarta International Handicraft Trade Fair (INACRAFT 2015) at the Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Center (JCC).

Scheduled to be held on April 8-12, 2015, the INACRAFT is the biggest and most comprehensive exhibition of gifts and housewares.

In the company of First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo, the president arrived at the JCC at 10.15 a.m. local time to inaugurate the exhibition.

Also present were Madame Mufidah Jusuf Kalla, the wife of Vice President Jusuf Kalla; Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel; and Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Anak Agung Gede Nugraha Puspayoga, among others.

INACRAFT 2015 is organized by the Association of Exporter and Producer of Handicraft of Indonesia (Asephi) in collaboration with Mediatama Binakreasi.

The annual INACRAFT event has become an icon of Indonesian handicraft products' exhibition and is in keeping with the government's annual agenda to consistently develop the quantity and quality of products.

Asephi Chairman Thamrin Bustami had earlier affirmed that a total of 1.6 thousand companies from all provinces across the country participated in the INACRAFT 2015, which is expected to be visited by around one thousand foreign buyers and 200 thousand domestic buyers.

He noted that craft industries in Indonesia have started to show potential, which is apparent by the increasing number of local craftsmen with new innovations and creativity producing new products.

Promising economic demands and market opportunities have made these industries more interesting and reliable to explore with a glimmer of hope for national economic growth and improvement.

With its sub-theme "Improving Quality of Creative Handicraft to Penetrate the Global Market," this exhibition is expected to showcase the existence and compatibility of Indonesian creative craft industries to the international craft community during the time of stiff competition from similar products manufactured by other countries in the world.

Last year, the INACRAFT 2014 adopted the Central Java cultural inheritance as its main icon, aimed to develop creative economy products in order to improve the export quality of Indonesian craft products to become one of the alternative sources for supporting the national economy in this global free-trade era.

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