A prestigious Italian exhibition has called on Iran to have a more prominent presence in its upcoming edition.
Following an invitation by Azadi International Tourism Organization, Antonio Intiglietta, the founder and president of L’Artigiano in Fiera based in Milan, Italy—perhaps the most famous handicrafts exhibition in the world—traveled to Iran.
Intiglietta met with officials at Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization and the managing director of Touring and Automobile Club of Iran, Abolqasem Iraji, ISNA reported.
For the expo scheduled for December 5-13, Intiglietta is expecting more from Iran, which is one of the top producers of handicrafts.
About 130 countries participated in the 19th edition of the exhibition last year, which drew 3.5 million visitors.
Despite ranking third globally in handicrafts production, Iran opted for a cozy corner and kept a low profile, which did not go unnoticed by the organizers: They decided to visit Iran to remedy the situation.
“Iran’s low profile presence in the exhibition does not reflect its wide variety of handicrafts. This hurts the industry in Iran,” Intiglietta said.
During a meeting with ICHHTO officials on Wednesday, Intiglietta urged the Iranian authorities to play a more prominent role in the upcoming expo in December to take advantage of the international setting to introduce its food products, souvenirs, handicrafts and tourism.
During his trip to Iran, Intiglietta visited Isfahan and Shiraz, and held meetings with the managers of Tehran’s Permanent Fairground.
“Given the quality of handicrafts here, Iran must become a force to reckon with,” he said.
