Over the weekend, IACC Texas president Brando Ballerini a director Alessia Paolicchi attended the 28th annual convention of the Italian government’s international chambers of commerce held in Treviso, Venice, and Padua, Italy.

They couldn’t have been more proud to represent the Texas chapter of the organization: This year, IACC Texas, based in Houston, was ranked the number one chamber in the U.S. and the number five chamber in the world among 78 offices total worldwide (only 74 were ranked).

The rankings are based on the quality and variety of services offered. And as Director Paolicchi notes, the IACC Texas offering of programs and campaigns for its members — including the field of space, oil and gas, medicine, and food and wine — is where the office stands out among the crowded field of chambers across the globe.

The figures are even more impressive when you consider that Houston doesn’t abound in Italian businesses as do cities like New York, Chicago, Dubai, or Buenos Aires. Indeed, another primary factor that the organization takes into consideration when ranking the international chambers is the number of members each chapter has.

The mission of the international chambers of commerce, said Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in an address to the convention, “isn’t just to make our presence grow through the world but also to share an unconventional image of an Italy that produces, innovates, and is a leader in many different sectors beyond industry, including the service sector, tourism, culture, food production, and wine and gastronomy.”

The theme for this year’s gathering was “partnerships in business and global networks, the new frontier for opportunity in the internationalization of businesses and territories.”

The Italian Association of Chambers of Commerce Abroad (Assocamerestero) has offices in 55 countries throughout the world.

The Veneto region was chosen as the site for this year’s convention because roughly 50 percent of its production is shipped abroad.