Between 4th and 7th September 2023, UNIDO ITPO Italy organized and took part in a mission to Lebanon officially kicking off the project “Twinning partnership for sustainable small and medium-sized enterprises development in Lebanon”.

The project, funded by the Italian Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) Region and implemented by UNIDO ITPO Italy in collaboration with the University of Udine and the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), aims to forge a new twinning partnership for sustainable industrial development that will support Lebanese SMEs in the Bekaa Valley to boost their productivity, knowledge and networking activities on the enology sector and wine-making processes. 

The mission — which took place across the Lebanese cities of Beirut, Baabda, Kaslik — was carried out by an Italian delegation composed of representatives from UNIDO ITPO Italy, FVG Region and University of Udine, and featured a participated press conference (notably broadcasted on Lebanese television) to officially announce the project to the national audience and beyond, multiple meetings with relevant local stakeholders involved — namely the Lebanese Ministry of Industry, UNIDO Lebanon, the Italian Embassy to Lebanon and the Italian Trade Agency in Lebanon, the Chamber of Commerce of Zahle, the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, Union Vinicole du Liban (UVL) and the National Institution of Vine and Wine (NIVW) — as well as several company visits, further fostering public-private synergies to pave the way for upcoming activities in the framework of this project.