Italy's Veneto Region signs deal to boost bilateral trade

DUBAI, UAE - Dec. 9, 2014 - PRLog -- Looking to capitalize on surging trade and tourism ties between the UAE and Italy, a high-powered delegation from the Italian Ministry of Tourism and Trade (Veneto Region) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Dubai FDI, the investment promotion agency of Dubai Economic Department (DED), designed to boost industrial and trade ties between the Veneto Region of Italy and Dubai.

Bilateral trade between Italy and the UAE stood at AED 34.3 billion last year and is estimated to rack up a creditable 15% rate of growth this year.

“Both Venice and Dubai have grown to be important trading centres today and have had similar beginnings as bustling ports harnessing maritime trade. By working together and building synergies between our two regions, we can effectively tap into what is a market of enormous promise,” said HE Marino Finozzi, Minister of Trade & Tourism from the Veneto region of Italy.

HE Finozzi observed that the purpose of his visit was to promote bilateral trade and tourism and underscore the importance of the Veneto region to the regional travel trade during a session highlighting Veneto’s nature, history, art, culture and entertainment that make it an unforgettable holiday destination.

“Veneto, a region in Northern part of Italy, is a popular tourism destination with Venice as its main draw, and we are keen to tap the Arabian travellers and increase our share of tourist arrivals from the region.” HE Finozzi remarked.

“Veneto region is bustling with seaside resorts of sandy beaches, mountain resorts, with the famous Dolomites, the Lake Garda, the spas and natural parks and art cities like Vicenza, Verona, Treviso, Padova etc. and highlight the region as an experiential tourism destination,” HE Finozzi added.

As part of its strategy to promote the destination and its myriad offerings, Veneto Tourism in collaboration with ITP Venice organized a session with regional tour operators on December 8^th.

The bilateral MOU was signed by Massimiliano Riolfo, President and CEO of ITP (Industrial & Technological Pole) Venice and Ibrahim Hussain Ahli, Director Support & Promotion Division, Dubai FDI, DED in the presence of HE Finozzi at the Raffles Hotel in Dubai.

Making their first foray into the region on the invitation of Dubai Economic Department's FDI Division, ITP Venice, who represents a region which is considered one of the most prosperous and industrially developed in all of Europe, also announced the opening of their new office in Dubai, in order to generate fresh business opportunities across the region.

“Opening our office in Dubai brings us into the commercial and trading heart of the thriving Middle East region, which presents companies from our region with myriad business opportunities,” said Riolfo. “We would like to thank Dubai FDI for rolling out the red carpet and making it easy for us to begin operating here.”

Speaking during the media gathering, Ahli said: “Dubai presents companies with unmatched ease of access to a regional market of more than two billion people. Being based in the emirate, companies can not only take advantage of superb communication and transport links across the region but also capitalise on the years of local experience in doing business with these harder to access regions.”

Developing at an incredible rate since recovering from the travails of the Second World War, the Veneto Region has built up an immense network of well known entities specialised in engineering, design and manufacturing. Many companies who are today renowned the world over for their outstanding products and capabilities originated in the Veneto Region. Many of them are still based there including the likes of: Aprilia, Safilo, Benetton, Diesel, Replay, De Longhi, Electrolux, Geox and Luxottica to name a few.

Other not so well known companies have been supplying the best names in the world for decades, with many of these enterprises working for the likes of Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, and BMW among others. A number of German companies rely on manufacturers in this region to produce their goods, and brand them with their own trademarks.

Veneto region is also rich in engineering, design and high tech enterprises dealing in telescopes, radio-telescopes, astronomical observatories and scientific equipment, to the design and manufacturing of turn-key plants for plastics and polymer processing.

Photo caption:

Photo 1: left- HE Marino Finozzi, Minister of Trade & Tourism from the Veneto region of Italy, middle- Ibrahim Hussain Ahli, Director Support & Promotion Division, Dubai FDI, DED, right- Massimiliano Riolfo, President and CEO of ITP (Industrial & Technological Pole) Venice

Photo 2: Middle- HE Marino Finozzi, Minister of Trade & Tourism from the Veneto region of Italy, left- Ibrahim Hussain Ahli, Director Support & Promotion Division, Dubai FDI, DED, right- Massimiliano Riolfo, President and CEO of ITP (Industrial & Technological Pole) Venice