The time has come to export the Italian small and medium sized enterprise model to a growing Latin America, because that sub-continent could be one of the keys to Italian economic recovery. To that end a memorandum of understanding was signed today by the Ministry of Economic Development and Italo-Latin American Institute (IILA) for the purpose of encouraging collaboration between SMEs in Italy and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Undestanding signed
The understanding, signed at the end of the morning session of the first day of the 6th Italy-Latin America and Caribbean Conference held at the MFA on 12 and 13 December, envisages a plan of action that, in addition to identifying sectors in which it would be simplest or most advisable to establish economic cooperation, will generate a web platform where interested SMEs can register. IILA President Giorgio Malfatti di Monte Tretto described it as “a simple and revolutionary idea” for increasing collaboration between Italian SMEs and their “counterparts” across the ocean and the competitiveness of both.
Giro cites SME system as a model
“There is a huge demand for Italy in Latin America”, Under-Secretary Mario Giro pointed out during the conference, explaining that, for its Latin American partners, Italy’s SMEs were “a model for economic trade and for reflection on the social model” by which to confront the challenge of growth. A challenge that can best be met by applying the concept of “equity”. “Those with a sustainable model will win the global competition, not those that grow the most”, Giro asserted, who held bilateral meetings in the conference margins with representatives of Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala.
