Improving the African image

At a recent press conference during the SIMAC show in Bologna, Italy, H Cherif, president of the African Federation of Leather and Allied Industries (FACIC), discussed the federation's hopes of promoting Africa's image as a continent rich in livestock. Cherif said that the Meet in Africa 2000 had given the African leather industry a means of collaborating with its European counterparts. He added that the subsequent Casablanca Maroc meeting considerably improved the African leather industry and contributed to the creation of business relations and transactions during the show, the improvement of participants' technical and commercial knowledge, and the development of training activities. The next Meet in Africa will take place from October 6-12, 2002, in Tunis and aims to forge new links between professionals in the African industry. Cherif concluded: 'It is imperative that we find a cooperation based on the common interests of a Euro-African partnership.'