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The Italian Industry and Technology
Exhibition in Erbil/KRG-Iraq
By : The Kurdish glob paper
http://www.kurdishglobe.net/displayArticle.jsp
id=835EC6699AF0D8A2E533C56860F235DD

Due to the region's rapid development and security, the organizers of the fair have set the stage for an even larger Italian Trade Fair in 2008.
After five days of the Italian Industry and Technology Exhibition in Erbil, the exhibition hall finally closed its doors on Monday, September 10. Around 80 companies from different sectors of production and services participated in the exhibition, which was organized by the Italian Axis Fairs & Services Company.
Many Kurdish officials, businessmen, and ordinary people visited the exhibition hall, and a number of contracts were signed between the Italians and local businesses; however, the number and size of the bonds were less than what both the Italians and Kurds anticipated before the exhibition began.
Kurdistan Region's President Massoud Barzani also visited the fair on its fourth day, describing it as successful and hoping for more trade activities in Kurdistan Region.
The president asked foreign companies to invest in Kurdistan by bringing their technology and to participate in the reconstruction process in the region. He said that the main advantage of the Kurdish region that attracts foreign investors is the security and stability that the region enjoys.
The Italians appreciated the security and thanked Kurdish security officers for the protection that was provided to them.
The organizing company of the fair intends to arrange an even larger Italian Trade Fair in May 2008. Axis Fairs & Services secretary general, Dr. Angelo Caspani, believes the success of this fair will encourage a much greater number of Italian companies to participate in the May 2008 fair.
"We are here because as Italians we believe in this country of yours, in your desire for peace and your wish to work with Italy," Caspani said in the opening speech of the exhibition on Thursday, September 6, 2007. "Ours is not an act of courage, but an embrace for a people, a country that was the cradle of civilization, in which we believe and for which we have envisaged a bright future."
Many of the participating Italian companies decided to participate in future fairs in Kurdistan because, according to them, Kurdistan has the potential to be a good market for quality Italian products. They were happy to see the region developing rapidly and saw the fair as a step toward the participation of their country in the process.
"The fair is a good start and I hope it will be followed by other such fairs," said Perin Davis, owner and general manager of Peron S.R.L. Company. "I am ready to participate in future fairs since I believe in this region's development and the security here is very good for business."
There were different views about the fair from academics and businessmen. Some think that this is a good step to change Kurdistan from a market of the Chinese, Iranian, Turkish, and other low-quality products to a market of Italian and European high-quality products. They believe that bringing in high-quality products reduces the threat on the national wealth caused by Chinese products.
Still, others think that the prices of Italian products are unexpectedly high compared to what is currently available in the markets of Kurdistan and the income of the Kurdish people. In their view, though, the quality and the technology are very good and useful for today's Kurdistan, but they would hardly find a market in the region.
"This fair only makes us sad and nothing else," said Abdullah abdul-Qadir, a visitor at the fair, while watching a video on an LCD screen of how buildings are constructed in Italy. "The sad point is that when I look at their (Italian) technology and lifestyle, then I know how much we are lagging behind the Western world and how hard it is to reach them."