The European House - Ambrosetti a the 47th NIAF Gala

On November 28 and 29, 2022 the 47th Gala of the National Italian American Foundation was held in Washington; this year, it celebrated Tuscany as Region of Honor.

Our CEO and Managing Partner, Valerio De Molli, and the Partner and Head of the Scenarios Area, Lorenzo Tavazzi, took part in Saturday's NIAF Forum to present The European House - Ambrosetti to 1,000 members of the local business community and make a commentary on the results of the recent study prepared for the Foundation: the White Paper "The strategic relations between Italy and the United States of America. Past, present and future of a mutually beneficial alliance" (“Le relazioni strategiche tra Italia e Stati Uniti d’America. Passato, presente e futuro di una alleanza dai benefici comuni”), presented last September to the audience of the 48th Cernobbio Forum by Michael R. Pompeo, former US Secretary of State, as spokeperson of the commitee who contributed to the writing.

The document's objective is to analyse the added value brought by Italy in the international geopolitical context, quantify the reasons why our country is a key partner for the United States, and identify areas of collaborations with a relevant economic and strategic potential.

Regarding trade, Italy is the US' 4th partner among EU-27 countries, after Germany, The Netherlands and Ireland, whereas the US are at the first place for commercial surplus in Italy. There is room for improvement in the field of direct foreign investments between the two countries: Italy ranks 11th when compared to other EU countries.

Some of the areas with high potential for a even stronger and successful mutual cooperation are sustainable technologies, defense industry, and space economy. For years, Italy has been investing greatly in the development of renewable energies: it is the 2nd country in Europe for the increase of domestic production of clean energy in the past 20 years, and therefore it is a leader in sustainable energy. Italy is also among the countries that most contribute to the defense sector in Europe, also thanks to avant-garde companies such as Leonardo and Fincantieri. Moreover, it ranks third in Europe for the number of investments dedicated to space, and contributes the 0.04% of its GDP to the European Space Agency's projects, second to France only. Italian companies in the space sector are more than 200, they employ 7,000 people and generate a turnover of about 2 billion dollars per year.

To these three areas, we might add other areas of collaboration, for exmple related to Italy's rich entrepreneurial ecosystem, the outstanding talents in scientific research and the healthcare system, and the added value generated by the agrifood and automotive sectors.

Considering the recent geopolitical developments, Italy is also relevant because of its strategic position in the Mediterranean and the expansive participation in peacekeeping eand peacebuilding missions (we currently participate in more than 30 missions, either civil or militar, with 7,300 soldiers involved). A collaboration may contribute to stabilising Middle East and North Africa, as well as creating new dialogue opportunities with post-soviet countries.  

During NIAF'S, it was also broadcasted a video message by Italy's new Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who said that "only by working together we may successfully face the challenges ahead of us", and celebrated the numerous Italians who emigrated to the US, ambassadors of Italy who greatly helped in creating a solid bridge between the two countries and a strategic, long-standing alliance.