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Mumbai hosts Italian Business Mission to India in collaboration with CII
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Saturday, 29 April, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Shraddha Joshi, Mumbai
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The high-profile Italian Business Mission to India, held in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and organised by Italian Trade Agency, concluded in Mumbai. The meet, which comprised a business forum and business-to-business (B2B) meetings focused on investment in a number of sectors, including agricultural machinery and food processing.
Welcoming the guests at the forum, Lorenzo Angeloni, Italy’s ambassador to India, said, “Today’s meet will provide both the countries a great opportunity to move forward in terms of technology. It is an important platform to boost economic cooperation between the two countries and to deepen the business and investment opportunities for Italian companies in India.”
Delivering the keynote speech, Ivan Scalfarotto, Italy’s deputy minister of economic development, said, “After six long years again, a large high-level delegation forum has been held in India. The country is a top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). Companies are ready to come and invest in India, and therefore, we have come with a particular robust and qualified delegation this year.”
“Various initiatives has been taken for ease of doing business in different sectors, be it banking, infrastructure, tax returns or agricultural growth. According to research, 90 per cent of the Indian land is fertile, but only ten per cent of production takes place,” he added.
Scalfarotto informed, “We have various advanced technologies, and with the help of these technologies, a great amount of production can take place, and India can export a good amount of food items to various countries.”
Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister, Maharashtra, said, “India and Italy has long-standing relationship, and both the countries have shared trade and investment for the last few decades. Today, on the occasion of this high-profile meet, it is the right time to take this partnership to the next level. It is the best time for Italy to invest in India, and particularly in Maharashtra, as it is a powerhouse state of India.”
Speaking from a food processing perspective, he added, “Various new policies have been planned for the better development for the food processing sector in India, and we are seeing a huge scope in this sector.”
“Horticulture in Maharashtra is growing at fast pace. The state alone contributes 60 per cent of exports from India. Various companies like PepsiCo and the Coca-Cola Company are investing in food processing in Maharashtra,” Fadnavis said.
“India is the right place to invest. It would be a great opportunity for companies from Maharashtra to collaborate with Italian companies. Hopefully, this summit will pave the way for a new Indo-Italian relationship and more so, for a relationship between Maharashtra and Italy,” he added.
Michele Scannavini, president, ICE, Italian Trade Agency, informed, “Strong growth and estimates of an increase in the gross domestic product (GDP) by 7.2 per cent by the end of the year makes India one of the most dynamic economies in the world. Out of Italy’s 2.2 billion euro investment across the globe, 0.69 per cent has been invested in various sectors in India.”
Licia Maittioli, vice-president, Internationaisation of Confindustria, Confederation of Italian Industries, said, “Consumption continues to grow and demand for high-quality products increase with interesting opportunities in enterprises.”
“Thanks to the reforms in the internal market put in place by the Modi Government, India now has a favourable investment environment due to the relaunch of the industry and employment, the increasing liberalisation of the national economy, the progressive opening up of international trade and the imposing plan to modernise infrastructure in various sectors,” she added.
At the meet, two memorandums of undrstanding (MoUs) were signed. One was between Pelliconi and Oricon enterprises. Pelliconi, who are engaged in the maufacturing of beverage caps, plans to open a plant in Maharashtra soon.
A total of 150 institutions, including banks, universities, research centres, industrial and trade associations, were present at the event, where more than 800 B2B meetings between Italian companies and their Indian counterparts were conducted.
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