Italy at the heart of MEB operations

The Monaco Economic Board (MEB) and its Monaco Chamber of Commerce department organised a Trade Mission to Turin 6-7 November. The aim is to further boost trade between the Italian city and the Principality, an opportunity seized by ten Monegasque companies. The next day the MEB’s Executive Director General continued to Milan with other key institutions for a press conference promoting the Principality in Italy. 

The Trade Mission was organised under the aegis of Monaco’s Embassy in Italy supported by the Monaco Consulate in Turin and members of the city’s “Destination Monaco Ambassadors Club”, and business and institution leaders with strong links to the Principality.

After a dinner the evening before, a highlight was the business forum on Thursday 7 November that began with bilateral presentations on each country’s opportunities and advantages. This was followed by informal meetings between the visitors and contacts identified beforehand by the Monaco Chamber of Commerce working closely with the Unione Industriale Torino (UIT).

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two organisations to formalise this ramping up of new development opportunities between their respective members. 

For example, Monaco Inter Expo has signed a partnership agreement with Exclusive Brands Torino (EBT), a network of companies founded in 2011 on UIT’s initiative, the goal being to grow and promote selected Piemontese brands and products representing excellence, and more widely “Made in Italy”. The agreement cements EBT’s attendance at Dubai Expo 2020 as Official Partner in the Monaco Pavilion. The forum ended with a business lunch in the Palais Marone Cinzano. 
 
That evening Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo did the Principality proud with a superb performance of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s production of The Taming of the Shrew in the Teatro Regio, which was followed by a networking dinner attended by Turin entrepreneurs and officials.

The next day, Guillaume Rose, accompanied by other Monaco institutions*, attended a press conference organised by the Monaco Government’s Communications Department in Milan for 30-plus journalists from the national media. He highlighted the forces driving Monaco’s thriving economy, and the recent transactions involving harbours in Ventimiglia and Civitavecchia.  

Italy is a key partner for the Principality, with 13.6% of exports and 26% imports**. It is a preferred destination for the MEB which set up the Destination Monaco Ambassadors Club to strengthen ties and in 2019 organised operations in Rome, Florence, Naples, Turin and Milan. Other trips are already being planned for 2020.

Monegasque delegation being welcomed by their Italian counterparts at a business forum

Memorandum of Understanding signed by UIT Torino President Dario Galina and MEB Executive Director General Guillaume Rose