Within the framework of the UNIDO project "Investment Promotion for Iraq - Phase II" funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, UNIDO ITPO Italy joined SIGEP 2023, held in Rimini from 21 to 25 January, by facilitating the participation of an Iraqi delegation at the fair.

15 representatives of companies from different areas of the country (Iraqi Kurdistan, Baghdad, Thi Qar and Basra) took part in more than 100 B2B meetings with exhibitors at SIGEP. Among the delegates there were also many well-known realities of the Iraqi confectionery market such as Al Khassaki and Fusteka, large food service chains with several branches and new openings coming up.

Great satisfaction among: the delegates, who could appreciate the level of excellency of the technological products offered by SIGEP; the Italian exhibitors, enthusiast about the opportunity to finally interact in person with selected representatives of such a promising market; and finally the organizers, with numbers way beyond expectations for the Iraqi delegation.

As immediate results in light of the Iraqi participation in SIGEP 2023, it is already being discussed the organization in the upcoming months of missions to Iraqi for at least 3 important Italian companies producing machineries for ice cream and ingredients, the start of promising negotiations for the purchase of technologies with some offers already presented, and the booking request of an exhibition area for the next SIGEP edition in 2024 from one of the Iraqi operators.