The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Edmondo Cirielli, yesterday opened a High-Level Meeting at the Farnesina focused on Italy’s strategy in the coffee sector. The meeting was also attended by senior representatives from the Mattei Plan Task Force, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the International Coffee Organisation, and UNIDO, as well as Giuseppe Lavazza and Andrea Illy, Presidents of Italy’s leading coffee companies, representing the entire industry.
The event provided an opportunity to review Italy’s various initiatives aimed at further strengthening sustainability throughout the coffee supply chain. In this context, Deputy Minister Cirielli emphasised the need to maintain an ambitious strategy in a sector where Italy is undoubtedly one of the global leaders. He particularly highlighted the importance of intensifying cooperation with Africa — in line with the Mattei Plan and within the framework of the European Union — as well as through key partners such as UNIDO. These efforts aim to diversify and consolidate global coffee production, transforming partner countries’ supply chains in a sustainable and resilient manner.
Thanks to the Government’s action, Italy has taken on a pivotal role in the creation of the global public-private Coffee Fund, established with CDP and the World Bank and launched during the G7 Summit in Borgo Egnazia and the Development Ministerial in Pescara last year, in the lead-up to COP30 in Belém.
Giuseppe Lavazza, also speaking in his capacity as President of the Italian Coffee Committee, expressed strong appreciation for the effectiveness of Italy’s international strategy, which is enabling the country to attain a highly prominent position globally — to the benefit of Italian companies in the sector.
