Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the International Trade Secretary from the UK, has announced the commencement of a new export and investment partnership with Italy, after meeting Luigi Di Maio, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, during the G20 summit in Sorrento.
The trade between the two countries last year was worth over £34bn. Italy is the ninth-largest trading partner to the UK, importing £829 million worth of cars and £383 million worth of medicinal and pharmaceutical products; whereas the UK was the fifth-largest export market for Italy having bought £1.2 billion worth of Italian clothing, £860 million worth of beverages and over £641 million worth of fruit and vegetables.
The new dialogue aims to increase exports for companies from both countries from a variety of sectors such as life sciences, defence, security and tech. Moreover, the dialogue follows to improve inward investment which includes low-carbon industries such as onshore and offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture storage, plus the food and drink industry and tech sectors. Further collaboration is explored in this new relationship as the two countries are sharing an interest in creating opportunities for SMEs and developing companies.
The new relationship also involves the topic of sustainability, as both countries are willing to accelerate the progress towards a green and inclusive recovery. The discussion of green trade will be further explored during the twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) next month. Overall, the new relationship is expected to create regular engagements between the two governments with annual ministerial talks and link CEOs from the UK and Italy through innovative commercial partnerships.
Matteo Zaccagni
Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash
