After participating in President Javier Milei’s private audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican, Foreign Minister Diana Mondino is developing a full agenda in Rome today with meetings with senior Italian officials, intergovernmental organizations, industrial representatives, and local businessmen.
In the first place, Minister Mondino received the Secretary General of the Italo-Latin American Institute (IILA), Antonella Cavallari, at the Official Residence of Argentina to express her gratitude for Italy’s efforts to promote Europe's relations with our region. She highlighted Argentina’s willingness to continue strengthening its historical ties with Italy and referred also to the the Argentine Government’s interest in increasing and diversifying its exports, while rebuilding investor confidence in the country.
In that regard, Mondino told Cavallari that “Argentina has great capital and huge potential in human resources to cooperate on global food and energy security. We need to strengthen the functioning of the economy so that markets can trust us again, and to this end the role that the Institute can play is key." Mondino stated that “initiatives such as Global Gateway, intended to encourage investments, cannot replace development cooperation but should be rather understood as a complement to them.”
The Foreign Minister was later welcomed at the headquarters of the General Confederation of Italian Industry (CONFINDUSTRIA) by its Vice President, Barbara Beltrame Giacomello. This institution represents manufacturing and service companies in Italy, bringing together more than 150,000 small, medium, and large companies (5,3 million employees) and 215 associations. These companies represent 34 % of Italy's GDP and have delegations in Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Russia.
Also participating in the event were the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, a delegation of Argentine businessmen led by the Chairman of the Industrial Organization of Argentina (UIA), Daniel Funes de Rioja, as well as the representatives of the Financial Organizations of the Italian Government such as the Chamber of Deposits and Loans (CDP), the Italian Society of Companies Abroad (SACE), the Italian Society of Joint Ventures Abroad (SIMEST), and the Italian Trade Agency (ICE-ITA).
Mondino assured that "the government has made it a priority to deepen the internationalization of the Argentine economy through its companies, which are the driving force and transforming axis of trade and hence directly responsible for growth, employment and exports. Business internationalization is the most efficient tool for a country to recover, grow and achieve higher levels of competitiveness.”
“Over the last 15 years, Argentina has been an important platform for the creation and growth of new unicorns, with companies valued at billions of dollars. According to specialized sources, Argentina currently has 16 unicorn companies with another 5 ready to join this group,” she explained.
In 2022, Argentine exports of Knowledge-Based Services (KBS) grew by 18.9% and reached $8,283 million dollars, representing 57% of total Argentine exports of services, and 8% of the country’s total exports. The sector presents a positive trade balance of 164 million dollars. In the first half of 2023, Argentine KBS exports reached $4,228 million.
Accompanied by a large business delegation from our country, the Foreign Minister stated: “There is also significant room to promote business opportunities and exchanges between our countries in the fields of design, audiovisual, visual arts and publishing.” She added that “President Milei's government is dedicated to creating the conditions for investors to channel their resources and take advantage of the business opportunities available to them. Argentina can compete internationally due to its human capital, the skill level of its workforce, the export experience, and the stock of natural capital. All of this provides an ideal base to stimulate business ecosystems."
And she concluded: “We are convinced that the growth potential of the Argentine economy is still very far from being fully realized. We need a strong investment boost that provides the necessary muscle for more startups and projects to mature with very promising growth horizons."
On the sidelines of the meeting at CONFINDUSTRIA, Mondino also met with Chairman of SIMEST, Pasquale Salzano, and with representatives of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), an important Italian development bank.
The Foreign Minister highlighted the importance of resuming bilateral financial relations -currently far below their potential- based on strong direct private investment from Italian companies that have historically have always worked for the productive development of Argentina.
Both agreed on the wide potential to work together considering that, even when Argentine companies still do not have access to credit, there are several instruments available to Italian companies with an interest in investing in Argentina, an interest recently renewed by the ongoing economic reforms pursued by President Milei.
SIMEST is a company controlled by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) in its totality, which focuses on financing SMEs for their internationalization and provides credit support to Expos, in addition to technical assistance programs. Pasquale Salzano is also Director of European and International Affairs at CDP.
