Webinar on ‘Italy: New partnerships for business’

The Sri Lanka Italy Business Council together with the Embassy of Italy and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce conducted a Webinar titled ‘Italy: New partnerships for business’ on 10 September. 

The is the first webinar out of series of webinars to promote a greater knowledge on Italian manufacturing, which is not well known to Sri Lanka as well as on the export financing tools that Italian Government provides, that may be of benefit to many importers in Sri Lanka. 

The main objective of this webinar was to share insights about high-end industrial production in Italy and the tools available for Italian companies to penetrate foreign markets. Therefore, the webinar is not only aimed at Sri Lankan importers but also at companies looking to acquire capital goods with the aid of export financing instruments as well as those seeking joint investments opportunities with the support of the financial instruments made available by the Italian Government. 

Ambassador of Italy in Sri Lanka and the Maldives Rita Giuliana Mannella addressed the gathering on the strengths of the Italian industrial production and manufacturing followed with briefings from 

CDP Head of International Business Support Laurent Franciosi and Carlo De Simone from External Relations of SIMEST.  

Franciosi elaborated on the extraordinary instruments made available in the post-pandemic phase that will be of great support to boost the economic relations between the two countries.  The Q&A was answered by Carlo De Simone to provide more details on the specific tools available and offered by SIMEST to support the export and internationalisation of Italian companies.

The economy of Italy is the third-largest national economy in the European Union, the eighth-largest by nominal GDP in the world. Italy is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of a significant variety of products, including machinery, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, furniture, food, clothing, and robots.  It is the fifth largest industrial production and manufacturing country at present, with a trade surplus of over 100 billion dollars in the manufacturing sector, and offers many opportunities for collaborations between Sri Lanka and Italy.