Minister Tajani opens the Italy-Africa Business Dialogue Forum

Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani will open the Italy-Africa Business Dialogue Forum today at 9:30 a.m. at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The meeting is organised by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo and with the support of the Italian Trade Agency. Representatives of 47 African business associations from 21 countries, including Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya, Niger, and the Ivory Coast, as well as representatives of their Italian counterparts, will attend the event.

Two sessions respectively devoted to the role of Regional Development Banks for the growth of the African continent and to export support by the Italian Agencies of the Internationalisation Hub will be held. The proceedings will be closed by Italy's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Edmondo Cirielli.

Over the course of the Forum, the strengthening of the network of the Italian System in Africa - made possible by the recent openings of the offices of the Italian Trade Agency in Dakar, Lagos, and Nairobi, of the ITA Observatory in Niamey, and of the upcoming opening of the ICE Observatory in Abidjan - will also be discussed. Finally, during the event, five memorandums of understanding will be signed between Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and the Multilateral Development Banks attending the Forum. The aim is to identify areas of possible collaboration in countries of common interest, identify possible projects to co-finance, and promote match-making meetings with local counterparts.

"Africa, which offers extraordinary opportunities for collaboration in multiple sectors, is a priority of Italian foreign policy. I wanted to place it at the centre of the G7 Presidency's agenda," commented Minister Tajani, who reaffirmed the effort made since the beginning of his mandate to launch a new phase in the economic partnership with the continent, a fundamental pillar of the Mattei Plan.