Italy’s Undersecretary of State to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Maria Tripodi arrived in São Paulo, Brazil, yesterday for a mission involving representatives from Simest, ITA, and the Municipality of Venice. The Italian delegation, led by the Undersecretary, had a fruitful working breakfast with the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP), as well as cordial meetings with the institutional leaders of the state of São Paulo: Mayor Ricardo Nunes and Vice Governor Felicio Ramuth. Reiterating the deep historical and cultural ties between Italy and Brazil, which are cemented by a community of more than 700,000 Italian nationals and over 30 million oriundi, Tripodi stressed that the two countries could create further synergies at the bilateral level, also thanks to their concurrent appointment as G7 and G20 Presidencies. Tripodi then spoke at the event focusing on growth diplomacy held at the Consulate General of Italy, which was introduced by Italian Consul General Domenico Fornara and attended by the Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro, the Director of ITA Brazil Milena Del Grosso, the Head of Foreign Markets at Simest Marco Cantalamessa, and more than 60 Italian companies operating in Brazil.
During her speech, the Undersecretary highlighted the central role played by growth diplomacy in trade relations between Italy and Brazil, as well as in the Italian Government’s political agenda. “Italy is the second leading EU exporter to Brazil, with a constantly growing volume of exports. We support those companies who, like you, give lustre to Italy and are, as often emphasised by Deputy Prime Minister Tajani, the best ambassadors of Italian know-how”, affirmed Tripodi.