(Adnkronos) – Italy and Japan must ‘ally’ to cope with rising prices of rare earths and raw materials and cooperate through joint ventures in Africa and South America, Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani told a top bilateral business forum in Rome on Tuesday.
The two countries are “rich in enterprises” and have a “liberal” vision of the economy, Tajani told the Italy-Japan Business Group’s 34th annual General Assembly.
“Cooperation between Rome and Tokyo is natural since we share a common vision and consider the Indo-Pacific market to be crucial,” Tajani continued.
“That is why we are fighting for freedom of navigation in that area, which is key for our exports,” Tajani said.
Creating joint-ventures with Japan in Africa and South America “will enable our companies to become increasingly competitive,” said Tajani.
To achieve such projects, Italy and Japan “need to solve common problems,” namely the issue of raw materials and rare earths, Tajani argued, pointing a finger at China.
“China has the reserves and sets the an excessive price, which makes our products cost more,” Tajani said.
“This weighs heavily in a phase like the current one, which is characterised by strong turbulence in terms of global trade,” he said.
“Important goals can be achieved if mutual investments and companies operating in our respective countries increase,” Tajani underlined.
Italy is ready to invest more in Japan and is “read to welcome Japanese investment too,” he said.
“Our foreign policy is increasingly oriented towards trade and Italy is ready to do whatever it takes to strengthen this link,” Tajani concluded.
