Italy intends to expand the supply of Uzbek leather

    Business 26 April 2023 1299

    The Uzcharmsanoat Association held a meeting with the head of the Italian company for foreign trade and contracts. The Italian side plans to expand bilateral cooperation with Uzbekistan in the leather and footwear industry.

    Meanwhile, Italy intends to increase the volume of imports. This was discussed at the meeting. They also discussed the expansion of the presence of Uzbek leather industry products in European markets. In this regard, Italy can play a key role - serve as a bridge for the supply of products. To implement the planned plans, the partners plan to visit several enterprises in the Tashkent and Surkhandarya regions and get acquainted with production technologies, product quality and working conditions on the spot. The Italian side is particularly interested in leather for accessories, automotive and furniture industries.

    Businessmen were informed in detail about the reforms in the industry and the updated legislative framework regulating this industry, about the conditions created by the state to improve the business climate in the country, including tax benefits and customs preferences. The parties planned to work out in detail options for creating a leather processing joint venture with the participation of Italian capital.

    Another area of cooperation is investment in the country's human resources potential. At the meeting, the parties discussed in detail the possibility of attracting specialists from Italy to Uzbekistan to exchange experience in the leather and shoe industry.

    Separately, the parties considered the possibility of developing special programs to train designers for the industry. In this regard, work is also underway to establish cooperation with the Tashkent Institute of Textile and Light Industry and the National Institute of Art and Design of Kamoliddin Behzod.

    The Italian side will also provide master classes from Italian designers within the framework of the 1st International Competition of Young designers of shoes, accessories and leather and fur products UZCHARM STYLE 2023, the final of which will be held in September 2023.

    For reference: Italy is among the major importers of Uzbek leather. Last year alone, Uzbekistan supplied 58 million square meters of products to the Italian leather industry.