Textiles exhibition in Milan: Italian envoy explains steps taken to facilitate would-be visitors

KARACHI: Consul General of Italy in Karachi Danilo Giurdanella has said that in order to support the textile businesses in Pakistan, his consulate has worked out a special arrangement with the Italian Development Committee to facilitate would-be visitors to the forthcoming ITMA expo in Milan.

Speaking as chief guest at the ‘Presentation on ITMA 2023’ here, he said that the textile sector is important both to Italy and Pakistan.

Under patronage of the Consulate of Italy in Karachi, the presentation was organised for the textile industry to brief stakeholders on the ITMA 2023, which will be held in Milan from June 8 to June 14, 2023.

The value of Italian textiles production in 2021 was 2.4 billion euros, including exports of 2 billion euros, the consul general said.

ITMA is the largest textile exhibition held every four years. This year’s expo aims to highlight innovations that will help textile and garment manufacturers transform and grow their businesses.

The process of internationalisation and the vocation for innovation allows Italian companies to consolidate and further improve the leading position of Italy in the world textile machinery industry.

Danilo Giurdanella spoke about his country’s excellence in innovation and said that constant research and development efforts in the sector make Italy a market leader. He pointed out that out of the total exports of Italian textile machines, Asia accounts for 42 percent, followed by Extra-EU (20pc) and European Union (19pc).

Alex Zucchi, president of the Association of Italian Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT) welcomed the audience on behalf of his association and invited Ms Eileen Ng, deputy project director of ITMA Services, to talk about the upcoming exhibition and the impact of digitalisation and sustainability on the Pakistan textile manufacturing industry.

The exhibition will feature over 1,600 exhibitors from 44 countries and a list of 100 companies is still waiting to be allocated space in their preferred sectors. There are around 20 product sectors covering the entire textile and garment manufacturing value chain, including textile composites.

ITMA 2023 will be accompanied by several activities spotlighting industry innovation. The event aims to highlight automation and digital future, advanced materials, sustainability and circularity, and innovative technologies.

Aarij Iqbal, the president of Italian Development Committee (IDC), Italian Chamber in Pakistan, apprised the audience about the role of IDC, together with the support of the Italian consulate that will have dedicated channel for facilitating ITMA 2023 visitors.

The consulate has been supportive in highlighting that the textile sector is the largest exporting sector in Pakistan and works very closely with Italy. Both countries complement each other to grow and expand their businesses. Hence, it is important to facilitate Pakistani business houses to participate in ITMA 2023 being held in Milan.

Sohail Tabba, the founding member of IDC and chairman of the Lucky Core Industries, was invited to talk about the Pakistan textile industry and the way forward for it.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023