Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani has expressed his satisfaction with the positive export figures recently released by Istat, the Italian National Institute of Statistics.
Italy’s exports recorded a generalised increase in April, growing by 10.7% in value and 7.9% in volume compared to April 2023. Export growth in value was recorded in almost all the main partner countries, both EU and non-EU, including Germany (+3.8%), where Italian exports returned to growth. Overall, in the first four months of 2024 Italy exported goods for EUR 207.8 billion, with a positive trade balance of + EUR 17.6 billion (compared to the + EUR 1.5 billion surplus recorded in the first four months of 2023).
“ISTAT data point to very positive results for Italian companies operating in foreign markets, despite the complex international context”, Tajani commented. “Since the beginning of our mandate, we have placed support for the internationalisation of the Italian business system at the heart of the action of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through our Growth Diplomacy efforts” noted the Minister, adding that “this is an objective that the Italian Government is pursuing steadily and diligently. We provide companies with concrete measures and tools – from the subsidised loans issued through SIMEST to support their internationalisation projects, to the initiatives implemented with the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) to strengthen in particular the presence of SMEs in foreign markets, from the initiatives to support the trade fair system to the initiatives aimed at protecting authentic and high-quality Italian products from counterfeiting and ‘fake Made in Italy’”.
“It is an initiative beginning in Italy that – through teamwork involving the agencies of the ‘export hub’ as well as associations and companies – evolves abroad thanks to the relentless support of the network of Italian Embassies, Consulates, and Permanent Representations. We are committed to carrying out a series of initiatives and economic partnership events: for example, those we have carried out in the first few months of the year with China, India, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Romania, or the first ‘Italy-Africa Business Forum’”.
“The aim common to all these initiatives is to support the Italian manufacturing sector and encourage new business opportunities in priority geographical areas and countries for Italian companies, thus promoting growth and employment”, remarked Deputy Prime Minister Tajani.