Mission to the Gulf: Urso in Doha – strategic technologies and ‘Made in Italy’ at the heart of the agreement with Qatar
Third stop after Kuwait and the UAE. A task force has been set up with the Qatar Investment Authority to accelerate investment in Italia. A fast-track process for major projects worth over one billion. Italian companies are focusing on manufacturing, medtech and fintech
Artificial intelligence, data centres, quantum computing, advanced robotics, critical raw materials. These are the sectors towards which the Government wishes to channel Qatari capital in Italia, and it is around these themes that the Doha leg of the Gulf mission by the Minister for Enterprise, Adolfo Urso – who arrived in Qatar after visiting Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates – has centred.
Digital technologies
The first area of focus is digital technologies. Urso discussed cooperation on artificial intelligence, data centres and digital infrastructure, robotics and the digitalisation of the production system with the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed Al Mannai. The aim is to link the two countries’ innovation ecosystems and open up new investment opportunities.
The Capitals
The second concerns capital. An agreement has been reached with Mohammed Saif Al-Sowaidi, CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), to set up an operational task force to speed up the identification and implementation of new investments by the sovereign wealth fund in Italia, extending its presence to strategic industries and technologies: ‘Made in Italy’, critical raw materials, AI, data centres, quantum computing and advanced robotics.
The meeting was preceded by technical discussions between the fund’s representatives and the Italian financial operators in the delegation, including FSI, Tamburi Investment Partners and SACE. With regard to major programmes, Urso outlined the fast-track authorisation process envisaged for projects worth more than one billion euros, which involves the recognition of overriding national strategic interest and the appointment of a special commissioner.
Italian organisations in Qatar
The third topic is the presence of Italian companies in Qatar. During his meeting with Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, president of the Qatari Businessmen Association and of Al Faisal Holding – a group already operating in Italia and linked to Italian companies through commercial and supply relationships – the minister identified manufacturing, energy, medical technologies, robotics and fintech.
