The Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Maria Tripodi, acting on behalf of Minister Antonio Tajani, attended the first Italy-Central Asia Business Forum in Astana, held in the 5+1 format, which brought together institutional representatives and business communities from Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This initiative represents a concrete follow-up to the Italy–Central Asia 5+1 Summit held in Astana in May 2025, attended by Prime Minister Meloni, and marks a new stage in the strengthening of relations between Italy and the five countries in the region.
“We want to turn political dialogue into investment, industrial partnerships and new growth opportunities for our businesses, in line with the strategy set out in the Export Plan,” emphasised Undersecretary Tripodi in her speech. The work focused on energy, connectivity, infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, critical raw materials, agribusiness and technologies applied to agriculture, with the participation of leading Italian companies.
Trade between Italy and Central Asia showed a positive trend over the period 2019–2025, recording growth of +46.5 per cent, against a backdrop of significant growth prospects and a regional market of around 80 million people, rich in energy resources and raw materials and situated at the heart of the links between Europe and Asia.
Finally, the Undersecretary also held bilateral meetings with the Minister for Trade, Arman Shakkaliyev, and the Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Arman Issetov, who highlighted the excellent relations between Italy and Kazakhstan in the context of strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.
