Once concluded its mission to Poland, UNIDO ITPO Italy continued to assist the Iraqi delegation of the Industrial Cities Corporation (ICC) in a visit to the Port of Trieste, with the subject of the meeting being possible collaborations in view of the creation and development of the Port of Grand Faw, under construction on the Iraqi coast at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf.

The port infrastructure - which in the Iraqi government's plans should become one of the largest deep-sea ports in the world, strengthening Iraq's geostrategic position in the region and in the world - is connected to the “Development Road”: originally conceived in the 1980s and then known as the “Dry Canal”, it is a 17 billion dollar infrastructure project that involves the construction of approximately 1,200 km of railways and highways that will extend from Al Faw in the province of Basra to the Turkish border in the north, with an outlet on the Mediterranean in Mersin, already with excellent trade and exchange relations with Trieste. Over half of the industrial cities envisaged by the Iraqi government and in the ICC plans should be built right on the Development Road, giving renewed dynamism to Iraq's great industrial ambitions.

During the visit, some of the 18 terminals were shown, relating to the container area, storage area, free zone and industrial area, all covering over 2 million sqm, 12 km of port berths, inland terminals and specific timber areas, mineral and oil, for what appears to be (2022 data) the first port in Italy for rail traffic, for total tonnage, short sea shipping and the first in the Mediterranean as an oil port.

The meeting - held as part of the "Investment Promotion for Iraq - Phase II" project - fully satisfied the expectations of the stakeholders involved on both sides, paving the way for possible future relations with a view to strengthening relations between Italy and Iraq, with Trieste best positioned as the Gateway to Europe for many Middle Eastern countries.