Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Benedetto Della Vedova joined Deputy Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Stefan Kapferer in signing a memorandum of understanding on the OECD Centre for Local Development located in the city of Trento. The memorandum gives the Centre a new mandate for 2016-2020 and establishes an office in Venice.
The Trento Centre, established in 2003, makes recommendations and develops the skills needed, both in OECD member countries as well as in third countries, to formulate and enact policy at local level in sectors essential to growth. The Centre is also a means for cooperation within the framework of the OECD’s Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) programme with the Central European Initiative (CEI) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The Trento Centre works with the financial contribution of the Autonomous Province of Trento. Among other things, this accord expands collaboration and partnerships to the Trivento Region with the involvement (financial and otherwise) of the Autonomous Region of Trentino Alto Adige and the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region with the Udine Chamber of Commerce, and of Venice with the Venice Foundation. The Agency for Territorial Cohesion has also indicated its desire to contribute financially to the renewal of the Trento Centre’s mandate.
“The government views with great satisfaction the activities of the Trento Centre, which represents an OECD operational hub of excellence in the drafting and assessment of policies in support of small and medium sized enterprises and of support for the internationalisation of public and private entities”, commented Della Vedova. “With today’s agreement”, the under-secretary underscored, “and the support of the Venice Foundation, the Centre extends its presence to Venice with a view to increasing its activities on behalf of employment, SMEs and new businesses, green growth and innovation, and tourism and culture”.
