FM: Foreign investments priority for Italy

Italy's Foreign Minister Emma Bonino on Friday said attracting foreign investment was a "priority" of the Italian coalition government. Addressing heads of multinationals and investment funds gathered for the International Business Advisory Council (IBAC) 2014, Bonino said Italy needed financial, industrial and human capital to be part of the global value chain. Foreign investment is "in the national interests," she said, because of the corelation between that and Italy's ability to compete on the international scene. The meeting brought together representatives of the world's major economic players including emerging economies such as China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The Italian Foreign Ministry in a statement said three major upcoming events, namely the 2015 Milan Expo, the development of the digital agenda and Italy's possible candidacy to host the 2024 Olympic Games, offered important investment potential. IBAC, set up in Shanghai 26 years ago for the purpose of recommending international best practices, includes major worldwide actors such as Coca Cola, Google, Volkswagen Group, IBM, General Electric, P&G, Carrefour and Goldman Sachs. Among the Italian brands there are Eni, Finmeccanica, Unicredit, Intesa, Telecom, Exor, Prada and Zegna Group.