As part of the promotional activities set for 2019, Italian Trade Agency and ACIMIT, the Association of Italian textile machinery manufacturers, will organise Punto Italia, a service centre at the next Irantex, the main Iranian textiles and textile machinery trade show, to be held in Tehran, from 9-12 December 2019.

Punto Italia will be used for meetings between Italian textile machinery builders and their Iranian customers. In the service centre, local companies will be able to get for information on the Italian technological offer.

“Despite the difficulties that still exist for doing business in the Iranian market due to the well-known reasons, it is important to keep in touch with a market of significant importance for our manufacturers,” explained  Alessandro Zucchi, president of ACIMIT.

Market of significant importance

Embargo to Iran has in fact reset Italian exports to the country, which until a decade ago was among the main foreign market of Italian builders. In the first half of 2019 the value of the Italian direct export to Iran was equal to EUR 2 million, compared to EUR 15 million in the same period 2018.

“Unfortunately what is happening in Iran testifies how geopolitical tensions can influence heavily the business of a sector,” concluded Mr Zucchi. “Only two years ago, following the signing of the Iranian nuclear deal, named JCPOA (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), Italian exports came to a value of around EUR 45 million. Punto Italia at Irantex is the signal that our entrepreneurs believe in the ending of the embargo and in the resumption of normal commercial relations with the Iranian counterpart.”

Developing bilateral relations

Earlier this month, at his meeting with Head of Tehran Chamber of Commerce Masoud Khansari, Italian Ambassador to Iran Giuseppe Perrone said that Italian companies are still keen to be active in the Iranian market.

Two sides are interested in developing bilateral relations, he said, adding that Italian firms are still keen to be active in the Iranian market and are present at most of the exhibitions held at the Tehran International Permanent Fairground.

An Italian trade delegation travelled to Iran recently to negotiate with some Iranian companies which demonstrate Italy's interest in maintaining and developing relations with Iran, he noted. The embassy tries to help Italian and Iranian companies gain a better and deeper understanding of the two countries' markets and find areas of cooperation, he mentioned.

ACIMIT represents an industrial sector that comprises roughly 300 manufacturers, which produce machinery for an overall worth of around EUR 2.5 billion, of which 84% are exported.

www.acimit.it