(Adnkronos) – Government policies and a”strategic” position in the Mediterranean have made Southern Italy’s businesses “increasingly competitive” and interested in new partnerships with the United States, foreign undersecretary Massimo Dell’Utri told an event in New York, underlining the strength of bilateral economic ties, a foreign ministry statement said on Thursday.
“Southern Italy today represents one of the most dynamic and promising areas for new investments in the manufacturing, logistics, energy and tourism sectors,” Dell’Utri told the ‘Investing in Southern Italy’ initiative.
“Thanks to its strategic position in the Mediterranean and the instruments rolled out by the government, Southern Italy is increasingly competitive and open to new partnerships with the US,” Dell’Utri went on, the statement said.
Dell’Utri highlighted the robust economic relations between Italy and the US and Rome’s commitment to making Italy more attractive for foreign investors, especially its South, according to the statement.
“Investing in Southern Italy” is part a broader government strategy to promote Italian exports and attract foreign investment. Further events are planned this month as part of the strategy, said the statement.
The preparatory stage of the National Export Conference dedicated to Southern Italy is due to take place in Bari in the Apulia region on 16 June and will be followed by a business forum on 22 June in Miami, attended by foreign minister Antonio Tajani.
“Investing in Southern Italy” took place at the Italian Cultural Institute and was organised by the Fondazione Magna Grecia in cooperation with Italy’s national tourism agency ENIT and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in New York.
During his visit to New York, Dell’Utri laid a wreath at the “Survivor Tree”, the tree recovered from the rubble of Ground Zero, the area of Lower Manhattan where the World Trade Centre’s Twin Towers stood before Al-Qaeda’s attacks on 11 September 2001.
