(Adnkronos) – Italy wants to create joint business ventures with strategic partner Saudi Arabia in the Mideast, Africa and elsewhere within the framework of Riyadh’s Vision 2030 economic diversification plan and the major events the Kingdom will host in the coming decade, according to foreign minister Antonio Tajani.
“We want to invest and export to Saudi Arabia, but we also want to work with companies in this wonderful, growing country to set up joint ventures to strengthen our presence in Africa, in Syria and wherever we can work together to foster growth, peace and prosperity,” Tajani said.
Tajani was making closing remarks at a bilateral business forum in Riyadh attended by over 400 Italian companies and 660 Saudi firms, by Italy’s trade agency ICE and export credit agency Sace, its largest private business lobby Confindustria and state investment agency Simest.
‘We can truly do even more. After talking to some entrepreneurs, the results of today’s forum seem more than positive to me,” Tajani continued.
Over 330 requests for meetings were registered and over 4,000 messages were exchanged between companies on the forum’s B2B platform
“These were not just idle words. It seems to me that opportunities for incredible levels of bilateral cooperation are being created,” said Tajani.
“The Italian government wants to strengthen this new cooperation and take it even further within the framework of the flagship Vision 2030 projects and the major events that this Kingdom will host,” he said.
Saudia Arabia is set to host the Expo 2030 world trade fare and the 2034 World Cup.
Italy and Saudi Arabia can position themselves as strategic partners in Africa and Asia and can play pivotal role in the key India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), Tajani argued ahead of the forum in an interview with the Saudi English language Riyadh Daily.
The “growing financial and logistical footprint” of Saudi Arabia, which is emerging as a major regional hub and Italy’s ” historical presence ” in Mediterranean markets “complement each other”, Tajani told the paper.
“Through joint investments, co-development initiatives and participation in major infrastructure and clean-energy projects, we can help build sustainable value chains across three continents,” Tajani stated.
