UNIDO ITPO Italy participated in the 2022 edition of SAIE — the Construction Fair of Design and Building Systems, which took place from 19th to 22nd October 2022 in Bologna, Italy — by coordinating the participation of a business delegation from Iraq and Somalia.

Thanks to the support provided by UNIDO ITPO Italy, the delegation — composed of 6 companies, 3 from Iraq and 3 from Somalia, operating in the field of industrial, civil and residential construction, infrastructure and building materials — took part in around 80 B2B meetings with Italian and international exhibitors at the fair, facilitating networking and matchmaking for investment and technology transfer in specific sectors of interest towards the development of new synergies among Italy, Somalia and Iraq.

The initiative was part of two projects implemented by UNIDO: “Investment Promotion for Iraq - Phase II” (IPI), with the support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS); and “Productive Sectors Development Programme for Somalia” (PSDP), with the support of AICS, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF).