Introducing the project ‘Lombardy Meets Samarkand: Investment Opportunities’

On April 30, 2026, the launch event of the project “Lombardy Meets Samarkand: Investment Opportunities” took place at Palazzo Lombardia. The initiative was organized in collaboration with Unioncamere Lombardia and Promos Italia, with the support of CIUZ.

The event, held within the framework of the agreements signed in 2025 between the Regione Lombardia and the Governatorato di Samarcanda, brought together more than 80 companies with the aim of exploring opportunities for collaboration, investment, and development with the Samarkand region. A significant number of Chamber members were also in attendance, actively participating in the various sessions.

The first part of the meeting was dedicated to project presentations by Uzbek counterparts, structured into four sectoral technical working groups: agrifood, textiles, construction, and industry. The coordination of the groups was supported, among others, by CIUZ Executive Vice President Giuseppe Ferrario (industry) and CIUZ Board Member Gianmario Bianchi (textiles).

This was followed by a high-level plenary session, opened by the President of the Region, Attilio Fontana, and the Deputy Governor of Samarkand, Samiev Jamshidovich. The session featured distinguished contributions from Ambassadors Fayzullaev and De Sanctis, Regional Councillor for Economic Development Guido Guidesi, and Promos Director General Giovanni Rossi.

The program continued with an in-depth technical session on Uzbekistan, including a country analysis presented by Claudia Claudetti, an overview of the activities of the Italy-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce by Giuseppe Ferrario, and two case studies from member companies Asco Pompe and Toscana Nastri, represented respectively by CEO Ezio Vergani and Export Manager Dario Barducci.

Another plenary session was dedicated to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Regione Lombardia, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Simest, and SACE, aimed at supporting the internationalization of Lombardy-based companies in global markets.

Finally, the event concluded with contributions from the ITA-ICE Agency and the President of the Regional Council, Raffaele Cattaneo.