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(AGI) Rome, Oct. 18 - "Iraq represents a great opportunity for the Italian industrial world" is the message that Italy's Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi launched during the third meeting of the Italy-Iraq Joint Committee that he co-chaired with his Iraqi colleague Hoshiyar Zerbari at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was attended by the representatives of Institutions and of some 30 Italian companies, trade associations, banks and research centers. The economic and trade relations between the two Countries "have long been experiencing a season of intense development", the Italian Foreign Minister went on to say, recalling that Italy is Baghdad's "first European economic partner". During the last few years, Italian exports have recorded a continuously growing trend, reaching 490 million Euros in 2011, showing a 10% rise over the preceding year. Terzi also mentioned Italy's commitments in the Middle Eastern Country which now exceed 3.3 billion Euros, 475 million of which were donated, 400 million in aid loans and 2.4 billion in debt-pardoning, in compliance with the Club of Paris provisions. It is precisely in the perspective of an ever-growing consolidation of the trade relations between the two Countries that, within the framework of the Joint Committee meeting, bilateral aggeements were signed in the field of aerospace engineering, archaeological culture, the extension of aid loans and the promotion and protection of investments. To compound these agreements, the Italian Foreign Ministry is promoting diplomatic activities aimed at strengthening the visa issuing service in Erbil and Basra, which are strategic to foreign investments in Iraq.
"Through their presence in Iraq, Italian companies also make a significant contribution to growth, as in the case of Eni which provides jobs and technology to thousands of Iraqi citizens at the Zubair oil field", Terzi underscored, reiterating that "an extended stability throughout the Mediterranean cannot occur without a fully rebuilt Iraq". According to Terzi, "the presence of Eni can also significantly attract investment flows and positively affect the exports of many Italian companies".
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"Through their presence in Iraq, Italian companies also make a significant contribution to growth, as in the case of Eni which provides jobs and technology to thousands of Iraqi citizens at the Zubair oil field", Terzi underscored, reiterating that "an extended stability throughout the Mediterranean cannot occur without a fully rebuilt Iraq". According to Terzi, "the presence of Eni can also significantly attract investment flows and positively affect the exports of many Italian companies".
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