Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - From 10 to 14 December, a delegation of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, led by Deputy Minister Shukhrat Vafayev, visited the Italian cities of Milan and Rome, where it held a series of negotiations with the leadership of the Lombardy region, representatives of leading companies, associations as well as educational institutions.

The meetings revealed the high interest of Italian business circles in doing business in Uzbekistan in such priority sectors as agriculture, energy, pharmaceuticals, the tourism sector and education.

The key was the meeting with the Deputy Governor of the Lombardy region F. Sala in Milan, during which agreements were reached on the implementation of practical measures aimed at preparing for the events within the framework of the upcoming visit to Italy at the highest level. In particular, it was about organizing in the spring of 2020 a visit of representatives of large companies of the region to Uzbekistan, as well as providing the Italian side with practical assistance in creating a trading house in Uzbekistan in Milan with a permanent showroom for Uzbek products and a venue for B2B meetings and other business -events.

A dialogue also took place with the Director General of the Agency for International Cooperation at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, J. Marrapodi, who emphasized the significant potential for strengthening interagency cooperation by providing the Italian side with technical assistance in the intensification of regional trade and economic cooperation in the Central Asian region. To this end, the head of the Agency will pay a visit to Uzbekistan to develop a concrete program of action.

Constructive negotiations were held with the leaders of a number of large Italian companies and industrial associations. - So, with the director of the Fiera Milano exhibition center F. Churchi, issues related to the organization of the Made in Uzbekistan exhibition and the Uzbek-Italian business forum in 2020 were discussed, and with the regional president of the General Confederation of Italian Industry (Confindustry) E.Ferlengi reached an agreement on opening a regional office of Confindustry in Uzbekistan in order to create a permanent platform for industrial and technical cooperation between manufacturers of the two countries.

An important practical result of the visit was a Memorandum of Understanding signed as a result of a meeting between the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the khokimiyat of Tashkent and Kedrion Biopharma within the framework of the project on reconstruction of blood transfusion points and the construction of a blood production plant plasma worth 25 million euros in Uzbekistan.

In addition, during separate meetings with the management of Pietro Fiorentini, Saipem, Red Fish Capital, Toscana Nastri, Famekanika, Omnia Onlus Fondzioni and others (more than 30 Italian enterprises) were discussed how Topical issues on already implemented projects, as well as opportunities for initiating new projects.

Some progress was made in the field of education - during negotiations with F. Marcelloni, Vice-Rector of the University of Pisa, one of the oldest universities in Italy, the prospects of creating a branch of the University in Uzbekistan for the training of highly qualified specialists in specialized areas were worked out.