Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani and China's commerce minister Wang Wentao will take part in a bilateral businesses forum next week aimed at strengthening dialogue and economic cooperation in key sectors such as agritech, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Speakers from Italy's trade agency (ICE), from its main private industrial association Confindustria and their Chinese counterparts are also set to address the bilateral Business and Dialogue Forum being held in the city of Verona in the northast Veneto region on 11-12 April.
At the forum, Italy and China will look to boost collaboration in priority sectors including agritech, e-commerce, investment, pharmaceutical and biomedical, the foreign ministry statement said.
Representatives from Italy's internationalisation 'hub' - state investment agencies SACE, SIMEST and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti - and from Italian and Chinese companies will also take the floor at the forum, said the statement.
Wang will also attend an event at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice on 11 April to celebrate famed traveller Marco Polo - who brought the concept of paper money to the lagoon city on his return from China in the late 13th century.
The Ca’ Foscari event will also focus on Italy-China relations, the statement said.
The Italy-China Joint Economic Committee is the main instrument for economic and trade cooperation with China and is one of the dialogue mechanisms of the Global Strategic Partnership established in 2004, according to the statement.
Since 2019, the CEM has been coordinated and organised on the Italian side by the foreign ministry, the statement added.
