April 12, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact Andre Garner, Director of Communications & Public Affairs, at 773-562-8874 or email Garner at afgarner@cookcountygov.com.

Stroger Kicks Off Year-Long Project to Foster Trade with Southern Italy

See below for high-resolution photos.

Chicago – Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger kicked off a year-long project to foster commercial exchange between companies in Cook County and Sicily by hosting a trade delegation of Sicilian government and business officials on Thursday, April 12.
 
Eleven delegates attended Thursday’s meeting, including officials from the Sicilian government’s Department of Commerce, representatives of private foundations, and business delegates from Alimentaria, Gruppo Moccia Sicilia. The delegation was led by Mr. Vittorio Coco, the US coordinator for the project stationed in Chicago.

The trade delegation is part of a larger effort on the part of Sicilian officials to establish relationships with institutions, associations, businesses and distributors as a way to foster the development over the long term of economic ties and working agreements between companies in southern Italy and the United States.

Sicilian officials have identified metropolitan Cook County as a key U.S. region for outreach, an assessment based in part on Cook County’s existing relationship with the Italian province. In 2004, Cook County signed a ‘Friendship Agreement’ with the province of Palermo, which is also the capital city of the Region of Sicily. Sicilian officials have also identified Cook County as a highly strategic economic center and communications crossroads for the entire Midwest.
 
Officials expect the twelve-month effort to result in strengthened ties between the two governments and an increased opportunity to generate bilateral trade initiatives between Sicilian and Cook County businesses.

The Italians are particularly interested in exploring opportunities for collaboration and exchange in areas that include heavy industry, nano- and biotechnology, and the fields of medical and pharmaceutical development and manufacturing – all areas of keen interest to both established and growing businesses in Cook County, as well.

President Stroger has tasked the Chicago-Cook Business Center, or CCBC – a public agency that functions under the auspices of the Cook County Department of Planning – with the follow-up effort, which will include facilitating meetings between government and business interests on both sides of the Atlantic.

The CCBC is the principal economic development organization for the Chicago-Cook County region. The agency serves as a single source contact organization that works with prospect companies by providing market information, technical assistance, tax incentives, financing, building and land identification, strategic partner searches, and international expansion assistance. Business services provided by the office are confidential and free of charge.

Photo caption (left to right): Vittorio Coco, U.S. Coordinator the Sicily-USA Partnership Project; Giovanni Lo Bue, Executive Director of Sicily's Department of Commerce; President Stroger; Filippo Zappala, Special Assistant to the Regional Minister for Commerce; Giuseppe Battaglia, Managing Director of Sicily's Internationalization Office; and Domenico Ginotta, Managing Secretary of Sicily’s Office for Regional Collaboration.

For more information, contact Andre Garner, Director of Communications & Public Affairs for the Office of the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, at 773-562-8874 or email Garner at afgarner@cookcountygov.com.

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