Mission to Asia for Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Ivan Scalfarotto, who in the coming days will be in Tokyo to attend the 31st General Assembly of the Italy-Japan Business Group (IJBG), which includes the Italy-Japan Foundation, ICE, Confindustria and leading players from the Italian and Japanese business world. This year’s meeting will focus on renewable energy, smart cities, biomedical technologies and digital innovation with a special focus on start-ups.
The highlights of the visit to Japan will be the meetings with the Japanese Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Shuji Miyamoto, with the management of the country’s largest distribution groups and with Italian companies embedded in Confindustria’s business mission.
The Undersecretary will also inaugurate the first ICE Desk in Osaka and will visit the EDGEOF incubator where the Italian Embassy in Tokyo, in conjunction with ICE, has launched a joint initiative aimed at internationalizing our young start-ups. “The boom in Italian exports following the entry into force of the EPA (+ 20% in terms of value in the first few months) further testifies to the benefits that derive for our Country from the trade agreements entered into by the EU”, pointed out Undersecretary Scalfarotto . “This result, however, should not be seen as a point of arrival but as a starting point on which to build a strategic plan to promote and enhance our exports and investments”.
The mission will continue in China where institutional meetings are scheduled and where the Undersecretary will take part in the opening ceremony of the Milan-Shanghai Furniture Fair, on the 40th anniversary of the twinning between the two cities. Finally, the Undersecretary will participate in the inauguration of the new offices of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China in Shanghai.
The mission, whose aim is also to define the strategic internationalization priorities for 2020, is part of a strategy to strengthen our political and economic relations in the region, in line with the recent visit by Minister Di Maio to the ICIE in Shanghai and in light of the effects deriving from the implementation of the EU-Japan Partnership Agreement.
