(Adnkronos) – Around 80 young scientists, academics and researchers specialising in “food diplomacy” from all over the world are taking part in an event at Italy’s foreign ministry in Rome on Thursday that will look at the role of agri-food systems in international relations, the ministry said in a statement.
The meeting is due to kick off with the presentation of the report “Four Worlds, One System: Italy in Global Agri-Food Geopolitics’ by Nicola Caputo, advisor to foreign ministry Antonio Tajani on exports and the internationalisation of the agri-food sector, according to the statement.
The ‘Four Worlds’ report offers a strategic analysis of the Italian agri-food sector as a foreign policy tool, highlighting the role of high-quality Italian goods in international cooperation and innovation, ‘soft power’ and international governance, said the statement.
“With this initiative, we aim to foster strategic reflection on how Italian agri-food products can become a tool for cooperation, stability and shared development,” said Caputo.
“The Italian agri-food system represents not only economic and production excellence but also cultural, technological and relational heritage capable of contributing to the construction of new forms of diplomacy,” Caputo noted.
“Food is increasingly a lever for dialogue, cooperation and international presence,” he underlined.
The research behind the report identifies four sectors through which to analyse Italy’s positioning within global agri-food geopolitics: mature, high-value economies; highly dynamic emerging economies; economies in transition and with structural fragility; and key global geopolitical actors, the statement noted.
The report forms part of Italy’s ‘Rural Hack’ research and action platform for innovation in agri-food systems, sustainability and technologies for the agriculture of the future. The platform is based at the San Giovanni a Teduccio Technology Park in Naples.
Thursday’s event entitled ‘Four Worlds – A global foresight dialogue with the younger generation on the future of agri-food diplomacy’ aims to produce a summary of discussions that the organisers hope will be of help as strategy tool and in hammering out future planning guidelines for Italian agri-food diplomacy, the statement concluded.
