Italy can play a leading role in the economic growth of Somalia, which has at last emerged from an arduous transition after 20 years of civil war. The point was underscored by Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi as he opened the country presentation on Somalia at the Farnesina. The presentation illustrated investment opportunities in the country to members of the Italian business, academic and institutional communities. <\/P>
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Conditions in place for economic regeneration<\/STRONG><\/P> The minister underscored that today \u201call the conditions are in place for rapid economic regeneration\u201d in Somalia, against a background of high African growth rates. Italy \u201cintends to be the first to grasp these opportunities\u201d by exploiting its historic links with the country. The goal is to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation, starting with \u201can Italian investment plan to put Somalia\u2019s natural riches to profitable use\u201d. <\/P> Demanding challenges still remain<\/STRONG><\/P> Recent months have seen \u201ccomforting\u201d developments for the future of Somalia, with the election of the President of the Republic, the creation of a new government and improved security, noted Terzi. However, \u201cdifficult challenges\u201d still remain. They include the improved control of the territory, the supply of basic services for the population, and the strengthening of the federal state institutions. \u201cA general climate of security must be safeguarded\u201d, added Terzi, \u201cif the country is to attract foreign investors\u201d. <\/P> The Minister for Trade, Mohamud Ahmed Hassan, assured attendees that Somalia could be \u201cAfrica\u2019s locomotive\u201d. He pointed out that his country has oil and mineral resources, a very long coastline and fertile land. Moreover, it is the continent\u2019s largest livestock exporter. Mogadishu does not simply expect humanitarian assistance from the international community, but the development of economic partnerships in the industrial, agri-food, tourism and energy sectors. Minister Hassan reassured his listeners that security is the main \u201cpillar\u201d of the government\u2019s efforts, and encouraged direct investment to his country. <\/P> Good response from Italian economic community<\/STRONG><\/P> The presentation met with a good response from the Italian economic community. ANCE, the construction sector association, asked if the Somali Government\u2019s infrastructure plan could be made available. Others asked for improved transport links, for example a direct Rome-Mogadishu flight. Cultural issues were also raised, such as the use of Italian as a \u201cvehicular\u201d language, on which point the Foreign Ministry and academic institutions said they would take action. <\/P> The Somali authorities urged the Italians to be \u201cbold and quick\u201d in grasping the investment opportunities. \u201cThere is courage and speed on our part and on yours\u201d, replied the Foreign Ministry\u2019s Secretary General, Michele Valensise, who underscored that if Somalia \u201ccontinues on this path of stabilisation it will attract numerous Italian companies\u201d. Lastly, he announced that Italy will be inviting the Somali Government to Expo 2015.<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Italy can play a leading role in the economic growth of Somalia, which has at last emerged from an arduous transition after 20 years of civil war. The point was underscored by Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi as he opened the country presentation on Somalia at the Farnesina. The presentation illustrated investment opportunities in the country […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[31,29,32,3,44],"class_list":["post-17837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-approfondimenti","tag-africa","tag-cooperazione-sviluppo","tag-diplomazia-culturale","tag-diplomazia-economica","tag-energia-ambiente"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17837\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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