Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economic development, labor and social policies Luigi Di Maio and Minister of economy Bruno Le Maire met in Rome today to discuss about their strategy of economic development and industrial cooperation between Italy and France, bilaterally and at the European level.
They agreed on the need to develop and implement a more ambitious European industrial policy, aimed to ensure that European industries generate more jobs and are even more competitive than today and more able to compete successfully on the global stage. We need to bring European industries to the forefront of innovation and enable them to develop the technologies of the future. The Ministers highlighted their determination to work together on key projects like artificial intelligence, microelectronics, as well as innovative textile, and geographical indications also for non-agricultural products.
The Ministers look forward to the work that will be done in Paris on September 24th, at the Friends of Industry Conference where the issues set out above will be discussed in more detail with the objective of a renewed European industrial strategy.
The Ministers also discussed the different models of public banks of investment and how they can contribute to support the economy and especially the growth of SMEs.
At a bilateral level, they discussed about ways to deepen the industrial and economic cooperation between France and Italy, relying on the best know-how, expertise and experiences on both sides. Regarding Les Chantiers de l’Atlantique, and the work undertaken by Naval Group and Fincantieri, they reiterated their commitment to the alliance roadmap of September 2017.