Canada and Italy chart a
new course for shared growth

Steve McKersie: Thank you, your excellency, for joining us.

Today's discussion and this fireside chat is really about helping Canadian business leaders better understand the opportunities for collaboration and growth between Italy and Canada going forward.

How do you see the relationship between Canada and Italy evolving?

H.E. Alessandro Cattaneo: For Italy, Canada is certainly a partner of choice, and it's becoming more and more so because we have all understood how important it is to focus our economies and our supply chains within the family of democracies, within NATO and the G7. And Canada, I believe, is a perfect match and I also sense that the two sides are becoming more and more aware of that.

Canada is a lab for ideas and technologies, whereas Italy specialises very much in translating those technologies into final products. So, in this sense, the relationship can be beneficial for both sides.

Steve McKersie: And how has CETA impacted the relationship between our two countries, and how can we better leverage it?

H.E. Alessandro Cattaneo: Well, in a very positive way, it has impacted our trade relations substantially. The figures show that the increase in the eight years following the provisional engine to force of CETA has been in the order of plus 70% on the two sides.

Canada is strong in areas where Italy needs to find a partner, and the opposite is true on the other side.

Steve McKersie: And are there particular sectors where you see opportunities for longer-term strategic partnerships between Canada and Italy?

H.E. Alessandro Cattaneo: So, from the side of Italy, I would say that the most promising sectors are defence, energy, critical minerals, industrial machinery, and also the more traditional ones, such as agrifood, fashion, textiles, et cetera. So, it's a very diverse and rich combination of sectors. So, these are the areas where there is untapped potential.

Steve McKersie: I'm going to take us into energy and talk a little bit about energy. Italy and Canada have significant collaboration and deepening collaboration in areas like hydrogen and critical minerals and nuclear energy and advanced energy technologies. Where do you see the biggest opportunities for Canadian businesses as Italy advances its energy transition?

H.E. Alessandro Cattaneo: Well, Canada is blessed with energy because you have such a diverse energy portfolio, from hydro to renewables, from nuclear to oil and gas. So, Canada is really very much a blessed country in terms of energy. I believe that all these sectors, quite frankly, can be conducive to cooperation, and indeed we have launched last year a very successful Italy-Canada bilateral dialogue on energy. And we believe that energy is certainly an area where very good corporations can be brought to completion, both in terms of Italy buying Canadian energy, but also very much in terms of the two countries putting together their technologies for joint ventures.

I believe that the relation with Canada can prove very instrumental for Italy to assure the safety of our supply chains, even more considering that the relation between Italy and Canada is under the G7 umbrella, under the NATO perimeter, and that's incredibly important.

Steve McKersie: Are there any upcoming initiatives or investments or strategic partnerships between our two countries that Canadian businesses should be paying particular attention to? Is there anything in the works?

H.E. Alessandro Cattaneo: Yeah, that's a very good question, and by chance I have a good answer to that because we are working towards a very big business forum that will be hosted in Toronto at the end of October. The target date is October 29th in Toronto, and the idea is to bring together companies from the two nations stemming across a number of areas, including those that I mentioned before: defence, energy, critical minerals, industrial machinery, textiles and fashion, agrifood, and to have really a sort of big bang in our cooperation.

Steve McKersie: And for Canadian companies that are looking at Italy and are thinking about moving into Italy for the first time, what advice would you give them about building successful relationships in Italy?

H.E. Alessandro Cattaneo: Italy has quite a strong brand in Canada. Maybe besides being seen as a priority destination for tourism or besides being a country that is considered for its lifestyle, for design and fashion, et cetera, it's worth underlining that Italy is also the second manufacturer in Europe.

Italy is also a country that is extremely advanced technologically and can be a very unique partner to Canadian companies. I would also mention the fact that Canadian investments are very welcome in Italy.

Steve McKersie: Thank you again, Ambassador, for joining us today. Thank you for your insights and your time and your perspective. Really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

H.E. Alessandro Cattaneo: My great pleasure. Thank you.