Today at the Foreign Ministry, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, together with the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, Cecilie Myrseth, will open the Italy-Norway Business Forum. This initiative aims to strengthen economic and industrial cooperation between the two countries, implementing the Declaration of Intent signed by Minister Tajani and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide in March 2025.
Organized by the Foreign Ministry in collaboration with the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and, for the defence sector, in close collaboration with the National Armaments Directorate (DNA) and AIAD, the Forum has attracted particularly significant participation, with approximately 200 participants and more than 90 companies from both countries.
Following the opening session with the two Ministers, the works will continue with a plenary session featuring representatives of ITA, Confindustria, SACE, SIMEST, and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, along with their Norwegian counterparts.
The Forum will later be divided into three thematic roundtables dedicated to the energy transition, green maritime issues and defence, as well as infrastructure security and protection.
The panel on energy transition will focus on opportunities for collaboration in areas such as offshore wind energy, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, battery technologies, and critical raw materials, with particular attention to synergies between the Mediterranean and the North Sea. The second session will explore prospects for cooperation in the digitalization and sustainability of the maritime and port sectors, while the third panel will focus on opportunities for industrial and technological collaboration between the two countries in the security and defence sectors. B2B meetings between Italian and Norwegian companies will take place in the afternoon.
Bilateral economic relations between Italy and Norway are growing. Over the last five years, trade between Italy and Norway has more than doubled, reaching €6 billion in 2025. Italian exports reached nearly €2.6 billion, with growth exceeding 17%, while imports stood at €3.5 billion. Mutual investment also confirms the dynamic economic relations between the two countries. Italy is now one of Norway’s main European trading partners, and the growing interest shown by companies from both countries testifies to the vast potential still to be developed.
