KHOROG, Tajikistan (TCA) — On June 26, the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmon inaugurated the Pamir Mountain Welcome Centre (PMWC) and Youth, Sports and Culture complex in Khorog in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast.
The PMWC will be a hub for leisure and tourism related businesses. Managed by the Pamir Eco-Cultural Tourism Association (PECTA) it will provide office space, meeting space, a souvenir shop, information centre, lost-and-found service, equipment rent service for mountaineering and touring equipment, laundry cafe and other needed services. The PMWC will provide services to over 5000 tourists a year and conduct trainings for over 80 employees of its member tour operators annually.
“We believe that Pamir known for its natural God given beauty and now supported by friendly services provided at Pamir Mountains Welcome Centre will make the visitors feel more comfortable and they will remember their visit to Pamirs and Tajikistan for a long time and also promote the country to other potential tourists of the region,” said Akbar Ali Pesnani, Diplomatic Representative, Aga Khan Development Network.
The multi-purpose Youth, Sports and Culture complex constructed near the Tem cross-border market will serve as an additional facility to foster the cross-border cooperation and cultural dialogue between the Tajik and Afghan communities living on both side of the Panj river and contribute to stability in the border areas. Besides day-to-day sports activities, the centre is constructed and equipped with movable equipment to transform it easily to serve as well for culture events, conferences, fairs, and large meetings.
The Pamir Mountain Welcome Centre and Youth, Sports and Culture complex were built under the “Peace building and livelihood opportunities in conflict affected Afghan/Tajik border communities” project financed by the British Embassy in Dushanbe. The project aims at improving stability along the Tajik-Afghan border by maximising economic opportunities and cultural exchange. The project was implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation Tajikistan together with the Mountain Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP). The total project budget was GBP 500,000.
