Greater attention and proximity to the territory, increase in the number of Italian exporting companies, investments in communication and digital commercial channels, focus on innovation and sustainability, and consolidation of our market share in the sectors of excellence of our exports are some of the main objectives established by the Situation Room for Italy’s Internationalisation which held its first meeting today at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Competence over international trade and over the internationalization of our Country was recently transferred from the Ministry of Economic Development to the MAECI, and will be effective from 1 January 2020.
The Situation Room, chaired jointly by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and by the Minister of Economic Development, defines the strategic policy and plans resources every year for the promotion abroad of Italian products and for their internationalization.
In his speech, Minister Di Maio pointed out that “during this meeting of the Situation Room the Government clearly stated its willingness to support and promote Italian companies on the international markets, thus confirming for 2020 the objective of not only increasing the number of exporting companies, with special attention to those of the South, but also of boosting the exports of the companies already present on the international markets, helping them to diversify and make the most of e-commerce platforms”. In this perspective, Minister Di Maio indicated his intention to “improve the verification of the effectiveness of the promotional actions taken and to widen the discussions by involving the Universities and research institutes”.
In addition to consolidating the so-called mature markets, the document containing the approved conclusions puts renewed emphasis on high-potential non-EU economies stating that the 2020 promotional activities will focus in particular on these countries.
The sectors to be promoted most, concluded the Foreign Affairs Minister, are those “in which Italy traditionally boasts absolute excellence, such as agri-food and mechanics, while increasing its commitment to high-tech sectors and attaching great importance to the opportunities offered by the Green New Deal”.
