The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr. Edmondo Cirielli, will travel on a mission to Berlin on 8 February to attend the opening of the Italian pavilion at the Fruit Logistica 2023 trade fair, the world’s leading event for fresh fruit and vegetable logistics and trade operators, and for institutional meetings with his counterparts at the Federal Government.
Deputy Minister Cirielli will speak in the morning at the opening of the Italian Fruit Village, the traditional showcase at the Berlin Fair of the Italian agri-food sector, whose exports have shown steady and sustained growth, rising from 36.9 billion in 2015 to 51 billion in 2021. The importance of this appointment is emphasised by the fact that Germany is the leading market for our agri-food exports (about EUR 8.5 billion, 16.6% of the industry’s total exports).
Next, Deputy Minister Cirielli will meet with the Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Dr. Tobias Lindner, to address topical issues on their respective agendas, including relations with Central Asian countries and the provision of humanitarian aid, also in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, and Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze, to discuss issues as part of the G7/G20 and food security, as well as the “Mattei plan”, proposed by Prime Minister Meloni during her recent missions to the African continent.
In the evening, the Deputy Minister will speak at the Italian Embassy at the seminar organised with Confagricoltura “Italian fruit and vegetables in the European context: between common challenges and changing scenarios.” In addition to the Deputy Minister, the panel discussion will be attended by Mr. Mirco Carloni, Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Agriculture Committee, Mr. Patrizio Giacomo La Pietra, Undersecretary of State for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Confagricoltura’s President Massimiliano Giansanti, and representatives of trade associations and companies attending Fruit Logistica.
