Italy seeks to recover space it lost in Brazil
Valor Econômico
Italy relegated the relationship with Latin America in the last 20 years; now, it seeks to recover its space and wants to take part in major investment projects in Brazil. That is what was said y Claudio Scajola, Minister of Economic Development of Italy, who heads the Italian mission that participates in the Brazil-Italy Business Forum today. The business opportunities involving the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program), the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics, the pre-salt layer and the energy sector have brought Sao Paulo nearly 350 Italian entrepreneurs and executives. The Forum will start at 9 A.M., at the Fiesp (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo), and will be open by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
"The purpose of the mission is to consolidate and relaunch the relationship between Italy and Brazil. Brazil already hosts nearly 300 Italian companies. We want to grow even more, there is space for that", said Scajola in an interview to Valor. According to him, 1,600 meetings are expected to take place between companies. "We want to intensify relations with Latin America, relegated over the past 20 years, and we want Brazil to be the cardinal point for a greater presence in the region", said Scajola.
This distance becomes evident in the data regarding foreign investments in Brazil. Italy, over the past four years, has no longer appeared in the list of the ten biggest foreign investors in the country. "We gave room to other countries that had a history of less significant relationship with Latin America. We want to recover our space and want to increase it", said the Italian Minister.
Scajola stressed out the opportunities presented with the high-speed train and the pre-salt layer, mentioning the company Fincantieri as a possible vendor of platforms and ships. "In order to reach the ambitious objectives Brazil has, it is necessary to develop an industrial axis, and have several qualified companies. Italy believes it has excellent companies that might give Brazil a hand".
In this process, the Governments have a role of building the milestone in which the companies will operate. For such purpose, the Minister says he expects Brazil and Italy to sign a partnership agreement, "in the beginning of next year", but he did not give any details. "We want to increase the Italian investments in Brazil in several sectors, such as energy, shipbuilding, and infrastructure. We have excellence, we can transfer technology and together we can develop industrial activities here in Brazil for the use of these products in Brazil and in the region", said Scajola, mentioning the goal of having Brazil as a platform for South America.