EXPO Milano, July 28 2015 - UNIDO ITPO Italy, as a result of the strengthened relationship with Cuba, has assisted an important Cuban delegation in its visit to Italy for the occasion of the National Day of Cuba, celebrated on the 26^th of July at EXPO Milan.

The Cuban delegation, led by Orlando Hernández Guillén,President of the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Cuba, included Alexis Toirac Pereira, Director General of the Coffee and Cocoa Company of Baracoa, María Cristina Jorge Cabrera, Director of the Food Industry Research Institute and Director of the Latin American and Caribbean School of Chocolate, Pastry and Confectionery, and Silvia Alvarez Rossell, Permanent Representative to the International Organization FAO, IFAD and WFP of the Embassy of Cuba in Italy.

UNIDO ITPO Italy, on the basis of the delegates profiles, designed a specific program of BtoB and institutional meetings, technical study tours, country presentation, and company visits.

On July 28^th, the delegation visited the EXPO Milano site, in particular the CNH and CIBUS-FederAlimentare pavilions, they proceeded after to the Coffee Cluster where the company ILLY illustrated some of the aspects of their manufacturing processing, including information on the raw materials supply. On the same day and in collaboration with Confindustria Udine, UNIDO ITPO Italy presented to the Cuban delegation, technologies for packaging and bakery of two companies from Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, partner of UNIDO for the platform “Supporting your SMEs to Discover EXPO and Italian Excellences”. The delegation also had the opportunity to participate in a meeting with Grains R&S, business partners of the Italian company Emitech in the development of innovative technologies for the selection process and drying of crops, with a specific focus on cocoa and coffee.

The following day the delegation made its way to Parma, where it was welcomed by Andrea Zanlari, President of the local Chamber of Commerce, Cesare Azzali, Director of Unione Parmense degli Industriali, Marco Vagnozzi, President of the Council of the City of Parma, and Davide Menozzi, from the Department of Food Science at the University of Parma. Following the institutional meeting with the PARMAforEXPO roundtable, a presentation was held to showcase the new investment opportunities in Cuba, thereafter the program continued to BtoB networking activities with around 20 companies that participated at the event.

Finally, the Cuban delegation had the opportunity to visit two Italian excellences operating in Parma. The first, ALMA - La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana,  international culinary school whose dean is the chef Gualtiero Marchesi. The training center is considered to be the best in the world for Italian cuisine, with active partnerships with 20 international schools around the world. The second visit was to SSICA- Stazione Sperimentale per l’Industria delle Conserve Alimentari, a research station specialized in food preservation of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, and that also promotes innovation through applied research, consultancy, training and dissemination.