On 5 May 2021 UNIDO ITPO Italy met with the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Fuad Hussein during his official mission to Italy.

Held at the Hassler Hotel in Rome, the roundtable was attended by the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, the Iraqi Ambassador to Rome H.E. Safia Taleb and the Italian Ambassador to Baghdad H.E. Bruno Pasquino, as well as a selected number of representatives of companies and institutions from the Italian private and public sectors — among these, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, SACE, ICE and Confindustria — with the goal of strengthening relations between Italy and Iraq in the reconstruction process of the Iraqi economy, with particular focus dedicated to the sectors of energy and infrastructures.

In this framework, UNIDO ITPO Italy Head Diana Battaggia delivered her welcome remarks and presented the activities of the Office aimed at supporting industrial growth and sustainable development in emerging economies and developing countries. UNIDO ITPO Italy Investment Promotion Expert Andrea Carapellese had then the opportunity to introduce the project “Investment Promotion for Iraq: Phase II” funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and implemented by UNIDO, and illustrate its three components — Enterprise Development Centers, the support to Industrial Zones, and the facilitation of economic partnerships among companies from Italy and Iraq — paving the way for potential future synergies with further interested stakeholders.