On 14 November, at the Farnesina’s Aldo Moro Hall, Italian Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Edmondo Cirielli spoke at the launch event of CODEWAY EXPO (15-17 May 2024), a trade fair dedicated to cooperation, development and entrepreneurship, organised by Fiera di Roma in collaboration with The European House – Ambrosetti and sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The event was also attended by the President of the Lazio Region, Francesco Rocca, and by Minister Antonio Tajani’s legal advisor for economic diplomacy and development, Marco Rago. The main actors of Italian (MAECI, AICS, CDP), European and international cooperation, civil society organisations, associations representing Italian SMEs and the enterprises themselves were also present.
In his speech, Deputy Minister Cirielli stressed how “the private sector represents a fundamental pillar of development cooperation and, in general, of Italian diplomatic action, starting from the African continent with the Mattei Plan launched by Prime Minister Meloni”.
Healthcare, agri-food, ecological transition and education will be the key themes of the 2024 edition of CODEWAY EXPO, which will also allow companies to take part in special B2B programmes and get in touch with potential international partners. The new CODEWAY EXPO platform will then accompany companies in the various stages leading up to the May 2024 event, through the publication of targeted preparatory content.
The event also saw the presentation of the calls for proposals issued by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), a privileged tool to promote the involvement of the actors operating in the Italian development cooperation system.
Lastly, the strategic study by The European House Ambrosetti – commissioned by AICS – on the involvement of the private sector in development cooperation initiatives was presented. The study highlighted the multiple opportunities offered by the world of international cooperation. “Public-private collaboration has a high potential in promoting national interests abroad, also with regard to sustainability. In our country there are margins for increasing the resources allocated to international development cooperation and for engaging private operators”, stated Lorenzo Tavazzi, Partner and Head of Global Intelligence and Scenarios at The European House – Ambrosetti.
