Italy offers expertise to infra, agro-processing sectors

Italy is keen on sharing with India its know-how in the areas of infrastructure development and agro processing, according to Antonio Armellini, Italian Ambassador to India.

Addressing a meeting organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), he said the Indian government accorded high priority to infrastructure development, agro-processing, healthcare and social services. Infrastructure development and food processing sectors offered tremendous potential for co-operation between the two countries, he added.

He said Italy could offer its expertise in airport upgradation, port modernisation and roads and highways sector. "We believe our abilities and expertise in airport upgradation can be ideally adopted in infrastructure development programmes in India," he added.

While referring to opportunities in the agro processing sector, he said there was a large amount of agricultural produce wasted in India due to lack of infrastructure and Italian expertise in the areas of packaging, cold chain storages and bottling could be of help. "Italy offers flexible, competent and cutting edge technology in these areas," he added.

While India was strong in dairy products, it did not have strong presence in the cheese segment. Italy's expertise and experience could be of help to develop the cheese sector both in domestic and international markets, he said.

He also pointed out that another area of priority for co-operation with India, particularly with Tamil Nadu, was information technology.

Stating that Italian IT industry was small and fragmented, he said Italy was open to welcome Indian expertise and investment in the new technologies sector. He added that Italy was in the second place when it came to the number of broadband internet connections and the country was also known for its creativity in the manufacture of high-end industrial and design and fashion products.

Armellini, who was in Chennai on the occasion of the Italian National Day celebrations in the city, said that Tamil Nadu represented a preferred area for Italian investments. There are over 20 companies from Italy in Chennai, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Tiruchi and Kancheepuram, among others.

Rafeeque Ahmed, chairman - FICCI, Tamil Nadu State Council, said Italy, which has a strong entertainment base, could look for synergies with Indian companies, especially in Tamil Nadu that would facilitate technology transfer and mutual co-operation.

P Murari, adviser to the president, FICCI, called for co-operation in the field of art and culture. The tremendous expertise available in the field of restoring art and heritage properties would be of critical importance to India.

A partnership among the Indian government, industry and Italian expertise could be of help in restoring the lost art and culture in the country.

The total trade between the two countries was $3.5 billion in 2004-05 and the balance of trade was favourable to India for about $855 million. Italy is the 12th largest foreign investor in India.