ILO participates in study tour to strengthen Italy-Egypt cooperation in the leather sector

Organized by the Cairo Office of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the study tour also includes a representative of the ILO Cairo Office; an Egyptian delegation comprising representatives from the Ministry of Industry and the Industrial Development Authority; management and technical representatives from Egypt’s Leather Tanning Technology Centre (LTTC) and Cairo for Investment and Development (CID); alongside operators from the tanning, footwear and leather-goods sectors.

LTTC provides technical, laboratory and training services for the tanning sector, while CID is responsible for developing Robbiki Leather City, which is an integrated industrial cluster designed to modernize Egypt’s leather sector, strengthen links between tanning and finished-goods production, and support more competitive and environmentally sustainable operations.

The study tour combines technical visits to industrial districts, companies and laboratories with participation in MICAM Milano, LINEAPELLE and Simac Tanning Tech - three major international trade fairs covering footwear, leather and materials, and production technologies. These exchanges aim to strengthen participants’ technical and managerial capacities, facilitate the transfer of expertise and technology, and promote institutional and business cooperation between Egypt and Italy.

The study tour builds on more than two decades of bilateral cooperation supporting the development of Robbiki Leather City and seeks to encourage new industrial partnerships and investment in Egypt’s leather value chain.

The ILO is participating through Valentine Offenloch, Project Manager of the Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work in Egypt project. Funded by AICS, the project promotes sustained productivity growth and improved working conditions among micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, informal economic units, and selected leather and marble clusters in Egypt, including Robbiki Leather City. The ILO’s participation contributes experience from its work on the interconnected drivers of productivity and decent work in Egypt’s leather value chain.