The Italian Investment and Technology Promotion Office of the United Nations Organization for Industrial Development (UNIDO ITPO Italy) is based in Rome and was created in 1987 on the basis of an agreement between UNIDO and the Italian Government. Its mandate is to enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from targeted developing countries and economies in transition through the mobilization of investments and the transfer of technology and management skills, so as to implement industrial projects for sustainable local development and foster international partnerships and business cooperation with the Italian public and private sectors.