Following the institutional mission in Uzbekistan, organized by (), in October 2010 in partnership with the Italian Trade Commission, an Uzbek delegation comprising Government authorities and textile manufacturers recently visited Italy to meet with the Italian Trade Commission, an Uzbek delegation comprising Government authorities and textile manufacturers recently visited Italy to meet with ACIMIT's top management.

This meeting provided an opportunity to sign a memorandum of understanding and cooperation between ACIMIT and the Uzbek Textile Association. The agreement, which benefits from the approval of the Italian Trade Commission, sets up a framework for cooperation between Italy's textile technology providers and Uzbek textile manufacturers.

"Uzbekistan has a centuries old tradition in processing raw materials," explains Sandro Salmoiraghi, President of ACIMIT., "and is the world's sixth largest producer of cotton. The country is currently undergoing a strong phase of industrialisation, and in recent years its textiles industry has begun a profound restructuring process for the transformation of raw materials domestically, Many current projects regard the building of industrial complexes requiring technologically advanced machinery."

Italian textile machinery exports to Uzbekistan for 2010 amounted to an overall value of 2.4 million Euros, with sales focussing mainly on knitting machinery (66%), other machinery (17%), spinning machinery (9%) and accessories (8%). The attention currently being paid to Italian textile machinery sector was apparent in the high number of Italian machinery manufacturers eager to meet with the Uzbek delegation over the two days at ACIMIT's Milan headquarters, which is said to have lead to the signing of a number of agreements.

"ACIMIT aims to support Italian businesses in emerging markets, including those with real potential such as Uzbekistan," stated Salmoiraghi.

"In our encounters with our Uzbek counterparts, we have thus sought to present ourselves with structured offers, for instance with the involvement of the engineering firm Endeco, since the demand for turnkey production installations requires that bids be structured through businesses with specific expertise in this field."