(Adnkronos) – A new action plan to propel Italy’s exports will ramp up institutional and business missions and trade fairs, financial support for exports and deals with international distribution networks and digital platforms, the foreign ministry said in a statement ahead of the blueprint’s unveiling on Friday.
‘The government is working on our companies’ behalf to support their exports and internationalisation through coordinated action,” the statement cited foreign minister Antonio Tajani as saying ahead of his presentation of the blueprint at Palazzo Madama in Rome.
“The Action Plan is a new and concrete tool that will be implemented through coordinated teamwork with Italy’s economic players to boost dialogue and cooperation between Italian companies and foreign counterparts to grow business opportunities,” Tajani stated.
The blueprint to boost exports will also include opening new Italian ‘export hub’ offices abroad, according to the statement.
Italian exports flourished last year, especially in non-EU markets with a value of 17.6 billion euros in Turkey (+23.9% year-on-year), nine billion euros in the United Arab Emirates (+19.4%), 6.6 billion euros in Mexico (+7.4%), 5.58 billion euros in Brazil (+8.1%), 6.2 billion euros in Saudi Arabia (+27.9%), 5.2 billion euros in India (+1%), the statement noted.
The value of exports to African countries totalled over 20 billion euros – making the continent a priority for the blueprint – while those to ASEAN hit 10.7 billion euros (an annual (+10.3%) and those to the Western Balkans reached 6.5 billion euros (+13.4%), the statement added.
Friday’s event will be attended by the heads of Italy’s trade agency ICE, state lender CDP, state export credit agency SACE, service provider to Italian companies operating aboard, Simest, and Italy’s main trade and industrial associations. It is being live-streamed on the ministry’s YouTube channel, the statement said.
