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At Expo Milano last week was celebrated the Egyptian-Italian Business Council meeting. The Italian Minister of Economic Development, Federica Guidi, together with the Prime Minister and the Egyptian Minister of Commerce were attended. Veronafiere has been represented by its board member and CEO, Giovanni Mantovani.
Verona, July 27, 2015 – Institutions, economic and business realities from Egypt and Italy in the spotlight together at Expo on July 23rd. The Universal Exposition in Milan (Orogel Conference Centre) hosted the meeting of the Italian Egyptian Business Council, set up in 2006 to promote trade relations between the two Mediterranean countries.
Veronafiere has been also represented on the board of directors with its own CEO & Director General, Giovanni Mantovani. The Verona Exhibition Authority is organising the second edition of Marmomacc + Samoter Africa & Middle East International Trade Fair in Cairo 2-5 November 2015. This is a specialist exhibition in natural stone and construction machinery fields (www.msafrica.net) held alongside Projex Africa, the event focusing on innovative and sustainable building systems (www.projexafrica.com).
Egypt is the top partner for Italian exports in the area and a gateway to more than 600 million potential consumers in 26 African countries belonging to the TFTA single market (Tripartite Free Trade Area).
Egypt’s potential was outlined to Italian political and investment representatives at the meeting by the Egyptian Prime Minister, Ibrahim Mahlab, accompanied by Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, the Minister for Trade, Industry and Small-Medium Enterprise. They were welcomed at Expo for the Italian Government by Federica Guidi, the Minister of Economic Development.
Egypt – which celebrates its National Holiday on 23 July – is one of the countries belonging to the TFTA with highest growth potential. Damietta – a city 200 kilometres from Cairo – is expected to see the construction of a new manufacturing district with 2,400 workshops and factories, while 2,900 new apartments are in the pipeline on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital, estimated to be worth more than 700 million dollars.
There are consequently many opportunities for Italian companies, as has confirmed by Veronafiere’s CEO, Mantovani: “Africa,” he explained, “was included in Veronafiere’s internationalisation strategy several years ago. We have joined forces with exhibitors to promote Italian know-how in the natural stone and industries in Egypt thanks to our successful brands such as Marmomacc and Samoter. Moreover, we are also active in Morocco with our subsidiary MedinIt with two events dedicated to the world of contract and agriculture, while South Africa will see the debut in September of the Sol d’Oro southern hemisphere competition for quality olive oil.”
As regards Marmomacc + Samoter Africa & Middle East International Trade Fair, the event confirms once again for this edition its role as a b2b platform, with programme of business meetings involving 250 buyers from over 40 countries, of which more than 20 from Africa itself, supported by the Egyptian Government.
The spotlights this year are on the construction markets in Ethiopia and Angola, which will send trade delegations comprising architects, contractors, importers and distributors of marble and construction machinery. Focus events will also involve qualified incoming operators from Benin, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, together with the “Meet ITALY” innovation – an exhibition dedicated to Italian design excellence.
