Tehran (IP) - The 5th National Toy Festival opened in Tehran on Saturday, attended by Vice President for Economic Affairs and Education Minister.

Iran Press/Iran News:  At the beginning of the event, Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) Director Fazel Nazari said: "We export pistachios but have failed to take effective action in the field of cultural products including toys."

Education Minister Mohsen Haji Mirzaei also said at the event, "Entrepreneurs and businessmen need to be mindful of this huge market. The share of the toy industry is in third place after medicinal drugs and foodstuffs. The industry has great potential to boost the economy," Iran Press reported. 

The minister highlighted the role of learning which is the core of human behavior, the differences between societies, groups, and humans lay in their learning abilities, to see how a society's future would develop, it's better to check its schools.

Learning from infancy to pre-primary school age is when a human character takes shape. He added, taking games seriously can make us learn how to counter the threats which challenge our identity and capabilities today. The classroom is not the only place for learning. We can learn throughout our lives. The toy market is third in terms of global market value after medicinal drugs and military hardware (weaponry). Gaming improves and advances creativity, thinking and learning.

Vice President for Economic Affairs Mohammad Nahavandian also pointed out that the toy industry is very important, saying that China exports three billion dollars worth of toys a month and leads this global industry in terms of exports. That is, China's income from exporting toys is higher than Iran's revenues from exporting oil. The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade must strengthen this industry.

He further pointed to the prospect of exporting Iranian-made toys and said products must also be presented at the International Exhibition, and branding is a must. The manufacturer has to compete with a foreign manufacturer.

The vice president of economic affairs compared the toy sector to computer games and said, "Sometimes it can be imagined that computer games are replacing toys and dolls, but these two are complementary."

Nahavandian said, basic economics must be taught from early stages of our lives via gaming and toys, toy industry must be taken seriously to counter-sanctions, by supporting and backing this industry, those who imposed sanctions will be stopped.

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