Pavia, 2 July 2026 – The second stage of the "Business and Diplomacy in the Lombardy Territories" roadshow, promoted by Confindustria Lombardia and the Consular Corps of Milan and Lombardy, was held today at the Assolombarda headquarters in Pavia, organised in collaboration with Assolombarda.

The meeting focused on presenting two strategic supply chains for the Pavia area—life sciences and agribusiness—by highlighting the region's excellence and key players. Attended by representatives of the Consular Corps, the event aimed to foster targeted meetings between Lombard companies and strategic countries, create concrete opportunities for dialogue and cooperation, and develop economic prospects in international markets.

"Lombardy's global vocation, evidenced by an inflow of investments totalling €24.3 billion in 2024 and an outflow of €13.1 billion, must be constantly nurtured. In 2025, despite record regional export values, export growth lagged behind the growth in potential demand, leading to an erosion of market share in key markets. The current slowdown, caused by instability and trade wars, must be countered by leveraging the productive specificities of territories like Pavia, creating conditions that stimulate domestic demand, and supporting the green and digital transition. In this context, it is strategic for Lombardy to continue relying on the regional management of cohesion funds, which represent a virtuous lever for investment in our region," stated Confindustria Lombardia President Giuseppe Pasini at the opening of the meeting.

"International competitiveness always stems from the strength of the territories," commented Alvise Biffi, President of Assolombarda. "It is here that skills, industrial supply chains, and innovation ecosystems capable of attracting investment and generating value are developed. Pavia is a concrete example of this: in 2024, the Life Sciences sector here generated approximately €1.9 billion in production value, while agribusiness generated €3.2 billion. These figures highlight the quality of a production system that successfully combines research, innovation, and industry, as also evidenced by the microelectronics supply chain, which is particularly well-developed here. In an increasingly complex international scenario, dialogue between businesses, institutions, and the Consular Corps is a fundamental tool for creating new collaborations, attracting investment, and supporting companies in global markets. This is also demonstrated by the initiatives we are carrying out as Assolombarda: one need only think of the recent mission to Canada, where—thanks to the support of Ambassador Alessandro Cattaneo—we initiated new collaborations and discussions with industrial, institutional, and technological partners on strategic issues such as critical raw materials and artificial intelligence. The goal is to strengthen international relations and create new growth opportunities for our companies by showcasing the excellence of the Assolombarda quadrilateral."

For the Dean of the Consular Corps of Milan and Lombardy, Veronica Crego, "today, Consular Representations are called upon to be proactive actors in the territory's economic diplomacy, acting as true facilitators of strategic international alliances. Our task is to connect our respective countries not with an abstract Lombardy, but with the real substance of its industrial districts, experiencing first-hand where the heart of manufacturing innovation beats. The choice of Pavia as the second stage follows a precise geopolitical and economic logic: this territory is not only a high-productivity area but a true integrated ecosystem where scientific research meets cutting-edge industrial culture."

"Lombardy's international projection is built starting from its territories. Pavia confirms this emblematically: the province knows how to translate productive innovation into a presence on global markets, as demonstrated—for example—by the pharmaceutical sector, whose exports more than doubled in the 2022-2025 period, rising from €785 million to €1.85 billion. In this framework, constant dialogue with the Consular Corps represents a strategic hub: through this network of relationships, the Region develops bilateral ties, opens new opportunities, and makes economic diplomacy a concrete tool of regional foreign policy at the service of the development of Lombard companies," declared the Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Lombardy Region with responsibility for International and European Relations, Raffaele Cattaneo.

Following the institutional speeches, panels dedicated to the productive specificities of the Pavia area provided an in-depth look at the characteristics and strengths of the Life Sciences and Agribusiness supply chains.

In particular, Paolo Fedegari, Managing Director of Fedegari; Luca Damiani, President of ICS Maugeri; Daniele Bosone, Health Director of Fondazione IRCCS Mondino; Sandro Rossi, Managing Director of Fondazione CNAO; and Lorenzo Cobianchi of Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo were the key speakers in the discussion dedicated to Life Sciences.

Contributing to the round table on Food & Packaging were Marco Devenuto, Managing Director of AB Mauri; Paola Centonze, Chief Communication & Sustainability Officer of ITP; Fabiano Giorgi, Managing Director of Giorgi Wines; and Philippe Weiss, Sales Director of Goglio.

Pavia Life Sciences Data

The relevance of the Life Science supply chain stems not only from the presence of pharmaceutical companies, but above all from the integration between industrial activities, scientific research, advanced healthcare, and the university system:

• By integrating all these components, the supply chain produced approximately €1.9 billion in production value and over €800 million in value added in 2024, with a direct impact equal to 4.8% of the provincial GDP;
• The supply chain consists of 26 joint-stock companies with a turnover exceeding €1 million;
• The most significant component of the supply chain is represented by the pharmaceutical sector, which includes 17 joint-stock companies and generated over €920 million in turnover and nearly €450 million in value added in 2024.

Pavia Agribusiness Data

Agribusiness represents a distinctive supply chain for the entire province and includes all stages: from the production of raw materials and agricultural machinery to industrial processing activities and, further downstream, the recovery of organic waste in a circular economy perspective, as well as trade and specialised services:

• The supply chain includes 304 joint-stock companies with a turnover exceeding €1 million and, in 2024, generated approximately €3.2 billion in production value and about €530 million in value added, equal to approximately 3.1% of the provincial GDP (direct impact);
• In the 2019-2024 period, it recorded a considerable increase in both production value (+39.4%) and value added (+43.8%);
• The most significant economic component is industrial processing, which alone generated over half of the production value and value added (€1.6 billion for the former and over €271 million for the latter);
• Machinery, meanwhile, accounts for 9% of production value and 18% of value added (€307 million in production value and nearly €94 million in value added);
• Finally, the raw materials, circular economy, and services sectors represent approximately 10% of the supply chain.