"Our economic and trade relations are based on a tradition of friendship and historical collaboration strongly rooted and on a valuable complementarity: Argentina has essential natural resources and raw materials to deal with transitions and the Italian industry can offer solutions, processes, advanced and innovative technologies and know-how to maximise the mutual benefits of industrial collaborations'. Thus Barbara Cimmino, Vice President for Export and Foreign Investment Attraction of Confindustria, during the system mission to Buenos Aires with Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

"A further lever to be activated relates to technical training which is crucial for strengthening cooperation and enhancing industrial competitiveness. The potential of this market, with which trade amounts to EUR 2 billion and where there are already over 170 Italian companies with a stable presence, would be multiplied with the conclusion and entry into force of theEU-Mercosur agreement. An agreement that, after 25 years of negotiation, would provide a common platform to integrate the economies of the 27 EU countries with Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, creating a trade alliance that would give preferential access to our products to a huge pool of consumers and constitute a reality of strategic importance at global level,' the Vice President continued, speaking during the Argentina-Italy round table organised at the UIA - Union Industrial Argentina - to promote investment and business opportunities between the two countries in the presence of the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Argentine Nation, Guillermo Francos, and the Vice-President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, Antonio Tajani.

Confidustria and UIA, represented at the table by President Daniel Funes de Rioja, shared the axes to strengthen the productive sectors and increase their competitiveness, highlighting actions to assist SMEs in the acquisition of sustainable technologies and vocational training for employability, as well as emphasising the importance of concluding the negotiations of the EU-Mercosur agreement, which could serve as a roadmap to promote trade and investment.