On 7 July 2021 UNIDO ITPO Italy hosted its “Presentation of Macfrut 2021 to the Iraqi Business Community”, organized in the framework of the project “Investment Promotion for Iraq – Phase II” funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and implemented by UNIDO.

Moderated by Andrea Carapellese, UNIDO ITPO Italy Investment Promotion Expert, and Abdulhadi Al-Hatem, National Technical Coordinator of UNIDO Iraq, the conference opened with the welcome remarks of UNIDO ITPO Italy Head Diana Battaggia, highlighting the importance of promoting inclusive and sustainable partnerships between Italy and Iraq towards the achievement of UNIDO’s mandate.

The panel featured the interventions of Renzo Piraccini and Valentina Piraccini, respectively President and Head of International Office at Macfrut, introducing the exhibition with particular focus on its both physical and virtual stands, as well as its multiple areas of interest and services provided to participating companies in the fruit and vegetables sector; Sheikh Haider Al Ibadi, Chairman of the Iraqi Association of Farmers, who praised the synergies arising from the valuable Italian support to the development of the Iraqi agriculture sector, and fostered the creation of further partnerships between Italy and Iraq in order to address local technological needs; and Baseel Talib, Consultant Agriculture Engineer at the Ministry of Agriculture of Iraq, emphasizing the need to increase the quality and quantity of national export in the field through the establishment of joint ventures and the implementation of new production strategies, also pinpointing further business opportunities along the supply chains of all agricultural products.

The event concluded with the final remarks of Filippo Covino, Head of the Italian Trade Agency in Amman, reiterating the Italian support to the Iraqi private sector in the field, also in light of the previous Iraqi delegations assisted in their participation at Macfrut exhibition. As per underlined by all speakers several times during the panel, the presentation was an important occasion to facilitate a dialogue of collaboration between Iraqi and Italian actors to explore the opportunities offered by the fruit & vegetable sector in Iraq and strengthen the business cooperation between the two countries.